Australian share market notches gain as nickel, lithium miners sink

After the US benchmark index climbed to a record high, the local share market started the week on a positive note on Monday.

The Australian share market closed higher on Monday following a positive lead from Wall Street on Friday which pushed the US benchmark, S&P500, to a record high.

At the closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 added 0.8 per cent, or 55.4 points, to reach 7,476.6, while the broader All Ordinaries posted a more modest increase, up 0.7 per cent.

The Australian dollar was lower, buying US65.84c against its US counterpart.

Stocks powered ahead on Wall Street on Friday, with the S&P 500 finishing at record after rising 1.2 per cent to close at 4839.81.

Locally, shares benefited from a positive lead from Wall Street as the S&P500 climbed to a record high. Picture: AFP / Angela Weiss.

Locally, nine of 11 industry sectors finished in the green, led by consumer discretionary stocks, which vaulted 1.7 per cent, while consumer staples added 1.3 per cent.

The market was also buoyed by gains in the big four banks. ANZ added 1.4 per cent to $26.50, Commonwealth Bank rose 1.3 per cent to $114.80, National Australia Bank climbed 1.1 per cent to $31.63 and Westpac advanced 1.1 per cent to $23.45.

Material stocks were the worst performers, edging 0.2 per cent lower, as a host of miners reviewed their exploration plans as commodity prices sagged.

In corporate news, Liontown Resources was the biggest laggard on the benchmark, plummeting 21.3 per cent to 94c – its lowest level since July 2022 after the lithium miner announced a review of its planned expansion of its Kathleen Valley project.

Lithium miner Liontown Resources announced a review of its Kathleen Valley project. Picture: Supplied

Shares in Cooper Energy dived 24.1 per cent to 11c after the oil exploration and production company raised cost estimates for the decommissioning of its Basker Manta Gummy wells to $240-$280m, up from $193-$198m.

Diversified miner South32 slipped 2.8 per cent to $3.15 as it announced lower-than-expected quarterly coal production and put its nickel operations under review.

Nickel explorer Chalice Mining plunged 4.7 per cent to $1.02 as it unveiled plans to cut costs by 40 per cent on the back of weak commodity prices.

Lynas Rare Earths fell 1.4 per cent to $5.87 as its second-quarter revenue fell sharply due to the temporary closure of its Malaysia operations.

However, iron ore stocks rose with Fortescue climbing 0.9 per cent to $27.83, BHP adding 0.3 per cent to $48.85, while Rio Tinto was unchanged at $128.03.

Buy-now-pay-later stock Zip Co soared 16.5 per cent to 74c as it unveiled positive earnings before depreciation, tax and amortisation for the December quarter driven by strong performance in the US segment of its business.