Bauxite producer Alcoa Corporation (ASX:AAI) and oil and gas company Karoon Energy (ASX:KAR) are the top-performing stocks on the S&P/ASX 200 index today, which increased by 1.78% to 8,732 points.
Alcoa’s share price jumped by 1.5% to $103.31 in the first hour of the Australian Securities Exchange opening for trade. Karoon rose by 1.4% to $2.15 per unit during the same period.
Gold-copper development and exploration company Greatland Resources (ASX:GGP) was up by 5.2% to $13.53. Copper producer Capstone Copper (ASX:CSC) increased by 4.9% to $11.54.
This is the second day of increasing index points. On 1 April the index rose 1.71% to 8,418.70 points.
The sharp rise came after two days of index point declines by 0.5% to 8,418.70 and 1.22% to 8,412.70, respectively.
“Over the last five days the index has gained 3.2% but is virtually unchanged year to date,” the ASX markets website says.
As Mining.com.au previously reported, the index reported a third year of “positive returns” during 2025 despite “some concerns about the state of the world”.
“Big option trades using longer dated contracts we found in January appear to be looking for continuation of this upward trend in 2026,” the ASX says.
Analysts predict the share market and commodity prices will rapidly return to pre-war levels if US-Israel-Iran tensions progressively de-escalate.
“While [US President Donald] Trump’s desire to wind down the campaign quickly is understandable, the decision to defer the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz leaves a critical chokepoint firmly in Tehran’s hands for the foreseeable future,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore tells the Australian Associated Press.
“Unfortunately, this also pushes back any concrete resolution regarding the Strait’s reopening, effectively extending the uncertainty weighing on markets and the broader global economy,” he adds, according to the newswire agency.
Write to Richard Szabo at Mining.com.au
Images: Marcus Reubenstein via Unsplash
