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First Up

UPDATED 30/01/2026 09:28

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The ASX 200 recovered from early steep losses yesterday to end Thursday’s session down just -0.1%, the reverse of Wednesday’s price action. It was another session of polarised performance, although most eyes on trading desks were glued to the prices of copper and gold, whose volatility was almost unprecedented. In the early afternoon, Chinese property stocks surged over +10% after Beijing News confirmed that authorities have softened the strict borrowing rules that had worsened China’s property crash. The impact on the related stocks of the ASX was huge. BHP Group (BHP) reversed early losses to advance +1.80%, while Sandfire Resources (SFR) surged, closing up +5.2% after copper popped 7% in a couple of hours following the news.

Gold experienced a rollercoaster 24-hours trading in an almost $US500/oz or 9% range – we could not buy into this panic like herd mentality.

Only 13 stocks in the ASX200 moved by 5% or more, but it felt like more as resource stocks in particular were either hot or cold out, depending on the news flow and moves in underlying commodity markets:

Resources Stocks: Deep Yellow (DYL) +12.4%, Capstone Copper (CSC) +4.4%, Northern Star (NST) +3.1%, Whitehaven Coal (WHC) +2.9%, South32 (S32) +2.6%, Mineral Resources (MIN) -3.7%, Pilbara (PLS) -4.6%, IGO Ltd (IGO) -5.8%, and Iluka (ILU) -14.1%.

Elsewhere, a few “beaten up” names caught a bid as bargain hunters continue to circle, such as Reece (REH) +7.2%, ASX Ltd (ASX) +7.5%, and Super Retail (SUL) +1.5%. However, the high growth and rate-sensitive names remained out of favour with tech again, the worst performer falling -1.9%, while consumer discretionary names didn’t fare much better, closing -0.8% lower.

Overseas markets were mixed, with the US dominated by earnings season. In Europe, the German DAX retreated -2.1% while the UK FTSE closed up +0.2%. In the US, the tech-based NASDAQ retreated on a 10% fall by Microsoft (MSFT US), weighing on the index, while broad-based weakness offset a +10.4% gain by the old Facebook, Meta Platforms (META US). The Dow managed to eke out a small gain, closing up +0.1%.