The S&P/ASX 200 index continued to rise 0.45% to 8,732.10 points in the first two hours of the Australian Securities Exchange opening for trade. The gain follows a 1.34% jump in the previous day (10 March).
Gold exploration company Ora Banda Mining (ASX:OBM) is a “top performing stock” today, increasing by 18.8% to $13.85 per share. Rare earths producer Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC) has seen a 14.9% increase to $20.37 a share within the first few hours of trading.
Resources giant BHP Group (ASX:BHP) jumped 1.6% to $52.10 per share, before easing to $51.86 an hour later. Fellow mining multinational Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) increased 1.2% to $155.505 per share during the first two hours of trading, before reducing to $154.55.
“The index has lost 1.90% for the last five days but is virtually unchanged over the last 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”.
“The 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 say the share price declines follow both the US and Israeli government’s military strikes against Iran. ATFX global chief market strategist Nick Twidale warns Australia could still see a “real downturn” if the US-Israel-Iran conflict continues for “too long”.
Write to Richard Szabo at Mining.com.au
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