A reasonable day for the ASX as investors returned to beaten-down miners, with strength across copper, gold and energy stocks more than offsetting weakness in healthcare and technology. The buying was patchy though, with only 3 of 11 sectors trading higher, implying there is still a fair degree of caution out there.
Copper traded near a one-month high and within 2% of its June record, while gold rebounded above US$4,100/oz. Brent crude also climbed beyond US$92/barrel after US President Donald Trump played down the prospect of near-term talks with Iran and threatened broader strikes, keeping geopolitical and inflation risks firmly in focus.