The ASX is in good spirits today (29 January), advancing 33.5 points, or 0.4%, to 8,432.6 points as of 10.30 AEDT.
This followed a stabilisation in US markets overnight after a mass tech sell-off spurred on by a cheap Chinese AI technology development.
Over the last five days, the S&P/ASX 200 index is virtually unchanged, but is 0.96% below its 52-week high.
Seven of the 11 sectors were higher in early trade. Materials, however, was not one of them, slipping 0.5% after US President Donald Trump promised import tariffs on copper, aluminium and steel.
Copper slumped a further 1.2% to US$8,987 ($14.372) a tonne overnight, nickel dipped 0.8% to US$15,435 a tonne, zinc tumbled 2.3% to US$2,775 a tonne and aluminium lost 1.2% to trade at US$2,573 a tonne.
Gold, however, was stronger thanks to Trump’s tariff threat. The safehaven metal advanced 0.8% to US$2,764.
Utilities is the best performing sector, gaining 0.45% after the opening bell and rebounding from its recent decline. However, the sector is still off 1.42% lower over the past five days.
The industrials sector rose 0.19% and energy shifted up 0.07%.
Gold miner Perseus Mining (ASX:PRU) made the top five on Wednesday after reporting gold production for 2024 came in at the top end of its guidance at 502,109 ounces while all-in sustaining costs came in below the bottom end of the cost guidance range.
Shares climbed 4.58% to $2.86.
Average gold sales in the second quarter of the 2025 financial year rose 20% to 136,623 ounces and the average gold sales price increased 7% quarter-over-quarter to US$2,430 per ounce. This all culminated in a cash and bullion balance of US$704 million.
Yesterday (29 January) Perseus announced it would go ahead with the development of its CMA underground project at the Yaouré Gold Mine in Côte d’Ivoire.
Uranium miners Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) and Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL) reversed yesterday’s losses to climb 13.38% to $3.22 and 4.67% to $2.86, respectively.
Boss Energy declared commercial uranium production at its Honeymoon operation following a “strong ramp-up”. The producer is on track to meet its 2025 financial year production guidance of 850,000 pounds of uranium.
Aluminium heavyweight Alcoa (ASX:AAI), however, felt the pinch of the US tariff threat, sliding 2.46% to $55.04.
Coal miners Stanmore Resources (ASX:SMR) and Coronado Global Resources (ASX:CRN) also lost ground, retreating 2.27% to $2.59 and 1.52% to $0.65, respectively.
The S&P/ASX200 is Australia’s leading share market index and contains the top 200 ASX-listed companies in terms of market capitalisation, and accounts for about 80% of the country’s equity market. The index is designed to measure the performance of the 200 largest index-eligible stocks listed on the ASX by float-adjusted market capitalisation.
It is recognised as the institutional investable benchmark in the country.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: ASX & Stock
