The S&P/ASX 200 handed back most of its early gains on Tuesday (18 March), but remained in the green with a 6.3-point shift up to 7,860.4 points.
The index has lost 0.38% over the past five days and is 2.4% lower over the last 52 weeks.
Eight of the 11 sectors ended in the green. Utilities was the best performing sector, advancing 1.84% by the closing bell and rallying 4.79% over the past five days.
Energy climbed 0.61% and industrials inched up 0.09%. Meanwhile, materials reversed its earlier downtrend to close up 0.14%.
The biggest movers for the day included coal producer New Hope (ASX:NHC), which added 8.92% to end the day at $4.03, and lithium miner Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) with a 5.11% advance to $0.72.
New Hope reports that higher production and lower costs for the first half of the 2025 financial year has prompted the company to return up to $100 million to shareholders via a buyback.
Group saleable coal production rose 32.9% to 5.4 million tonnes compared to the first half of the 2024 financial year, while group free on rail (FOR) cash costs reduced 23.5% year-over-year to $55.50 per tonne largely due to increased coal production and disciplined cost control.
Net profit after tax climbed 35% to $340.3 million for the period.
Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR) remained in the red, ending the session down 4.93% at $2.51 after announcing it expects lower gold production from its Gruyere Gold Mine in Western Australia in the March quarter.
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
