Miners propel Australian shares higher on iron ore supply concerns

Fortescue

15/07/2026 07:54

Updated to close
Mining sub-index logs second straight session of gains
BHP shares hit highest level since June 23
Gold stocks down 1%
By Anjali  Singh

    July 15 (Reuters) - Australian shares ended higher on Wednesday as gains in heavyweight miners tracked higher iron ore prices on concerns planned strike action by BHP Group workers at Port Hedland could disrupt supply.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.4% to 8,841.1 points. The benchmark closed flat on Tuesday.
The mining sub-index .AXMM rose 1.7% for a second straight session of gains, tracking higher iron ore prices on concerns planned strikes at BHP Group's BHP.AX Port Hedland operations could disrupt supply.
The Anglo-Australian miner advanced as much as 4.4%, clocking its highest in over four weeks, with additional support coming from concerns over potential copper supply disruptions in Chile ahead of a powerful winter storm expected to bring heavy rain to key copper-producing regions.
The move appeared to be driven mainly by weather risks in Chile, as copper accounts for roughly half of BHP's earnings, said Philip Pepe, a senior equities analyst at Shaw and Partners.
Peer Rio Tinto RIO.AX gained 1.1%, lending support to the mining sub-index after reporting stronger-than-expected second-quarter iron ore sales. 
The miner also said the operational impact of the Middle East conflict remained limited, with no material disruption to production or outbound supply chains across its core commodities. Fortescue FMG.AX advanced 0.3%. 
Technology stocks .AXIJ climbed 0.1%, tracking the overnight gains in its Wall Street peers. .N
Australian-listed shares of Block XYZ.AX rose 5.2%, while NEXTDC NXT.AX added 5.7%. 
Banks .AXFJ rose 0.2%, with shares of Macquarie Group MQG.AX up 2%.
Capping gains, gold stocks .AXGD lost nearly 1% as bullion prices declined. GOL/
Shares of gold miner Evolution Mining EVN.AX slumped 3.7% after reporting a drop in its annual production.
Energy stocks .AXEJ followed and lost 0.6%, snapping two straight sessions of gains. Shares of Woodside Energy WDS.AX and Santos STO.AX were up 0.9% and 0.3% each. 
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 inched 0.1% lower to 13,635.07 points.

(Reporting by Anjali Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
((anjali.singh2@thomsonreuters.com;))