Australian miners gain most in 3 weeks as iron ore prices firm

Firefinch

18/05/2022 04:59

** A sub-index of Australian mining stocks  .AXMM  jumps as
much as ~3%, their biggest intraday pct gain since April 28 
    ** AXMM tracks higher iron ore prices, as hopes of 
improvement in demand rose on optimism that COVID-19 lockdowns
in China will ease further
    ** Heavyweight Rio Tinto Ltd  RIO.AX  advances 2.1%, while
rival BHP Group Ltd  BHP.AX  jumps as much as 3.5%, their
biggest intraday jump since April 28
    ** Sayona Mining Ltd  SYA.AX  climbs 10.2% to top gains on
the sub-index
    ** Fortescue Metals Group Ltd  FMG.AX  jumps 1.8% after it 
appointed its billionaire founder Andrew Forrest as executive
chairman, specifically to oversee iron ore business for interim
period when Chief Executive Elizabeth Gaines leaves in August 
    ** Champion Iron Ltd  CIA.AX  and Red 5 Ltd  RED.AX  jump
4.6% and 4.3%, respectively
    ** AXMM hits its highest since May 9
    ** AXMM up 1.4% this year, as of last close, compared to a
4.5% decline in the benchmark index  .AXJO 

 (Reporting by Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru)
 ((harish.sridharan@thomsonreuters.com))