ASX ekes out minor gain as tech stocks rise, oil companies fall

The Australian sharemarket eked out a small gain on Wednesday, continuing a sluggish start to the new year despite better than expected November inflation figures increasing the chance of the Reserve Bank keeping interest rates unchanged at its meeting next month.

The S&P/ASX 200 ended the day up 12.8 points, or 0.15 per cent, at 8695, with eight of its 11 industry sectors in the green. The gains come after two underwhelming sessions so far this week, with the market flat on Monday and falling 0.5 per cent on Tuesday. The Australian dollar traded at US67.5¢.

The ASX had opened higher after US stocks climbed for a third session overnight, taking the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones to fresh all-time highs. It spiked briefly as much as 0.6 per cent following the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ report that annual inflation had slowed to 3.4 per cent in November as Australians travelled less domestically and electricity bill price growth eased.

Economists had been predicting headline inflation to come in at 3.6 per cent for the 12 months to November after a higher-than-expected 3.8 per cent figure last month.

Tech stocks paced the market’s gains as they tracked their peers in the US, with the industry’s annual CES trade show in Las Vegas sparking growth expectations for the sector.

WiseTech Global, Australia’s biggest tech stock, was up 1.9 per cent. Software maker Xero rose 1.4 per cent. AI data centre operator NextDC gained 1.2 per cent and family tracking app Life360 jumped 1.8 per cent.

Miners gave up some of their gains during lunchtime, but were still higher as gold prices continued to rise, with traders looking beyond tensions in Venezuela towards economic data in the US this week.

Bullion was near $US4480 an ounce, having risen more than 4 per cent over the previous three sessions. After the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, the White House said on Tuesday that President Donald Trump wouldn’t rule out military force to acquire Greenland. China, meanwhile, imposed controls on exports to Japan, intensifying a dispute between Asia’s top economies.

Gold miners Evolution Mining and Newmont were up 1.3 per cent and 2.75 per cent, respectively, while Northern Star gained 0.8 per cent. Silver producer South32 added 1.6 per cent after silver prices surged as much as 6.3 per cent overnight.

Copper heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto were up 1 per cent and 1.6 per cent after copper prices surpassed $US13,350 a tonne for the first time earlier this week. Demand for the metal is booming as investments in renewable energy, electric vehicles and AI data centres soar.

Rare earth-related shares gained after China imposed a ban on exports of military-use items to Japan, a move with the potential to squeeze supply chains. Australian miner Lynas Rare Earths grew 14 per cent, the most since July, with metal producer Australian Strategic Materials Ltd. climbing 7 per cent.

Banks drooped as investors continued to shift out of the sector amid concerns about its profit growth prospects. The big four banks were all in the red, with the Commonwealth Bank – Australia’s biggest stock – down 1.7 per cent, while Westpac fell 1.7 per cent, ANZ Bank slipped 1.5 per cent and National Australia Bank dropped 2 per cent.

BlueScope Steel grew 1.1 per cent after it soared 20.6 per cent on Tuesday as investors look to the next developments in the joint $13 billion takeover bid by billionaire Kerry Stokes’ industrial and media group SGH Ltd and US steelmaker Steel Dynamics.

But it was the oil and gas giants who were the biggest losers in Wednesday’s session. Woodside dropped 2.8 per cent, Santos lost 3 per cent and Ampol, the nation’s biggest refiner, fell 2.35 per cent. The declines came after oil prices held their losses overnight as traders weighed the outlook for an end to the war in Ukraine following progress on security guarantees. West Texas Intermediate traded near $US56 a barrel after closing 2 per cent lower on Tuesday. Brent settled below $US60.

On Wall Street overnight, US stocks continued their gains in the first full trading week of the year, led by advances in materials, industrials and financials as a market rotation into laggards gathered pace and catapulted the market towards a fresh all-time high.

The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.6 per cent to a fresh record. The Nasdaq 100 Index gained 0.7 per cent, while the old-economy Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1 per cent, closing above the 49,000 milestone for the first time.

“If there is a singular theme, it is rotation,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at Jones Trading Institutional Services. “Overall, people want to be invested in this market, but they are looking to other industry groups that represent relative value in comparison to last year’s leaders and highfliers.”

However, big tech companies were still making some of the most notable moves. The gains mirrored much of the action from 2025, when the tech giants often drove the market to a series of records.

Amazon, which reaches into both retail and technology, surged 3.4 per cent. It is one of the most valuable companies in the world and its outsized stock valuation helped counter losses elsewhere in the market, including a 1.8 per cent loss from Apple. Nvidia, often the biggest force behind the market’s direction, wavered throughout the day and closed down 0.5 per cent.

With AP and Bloomberg

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