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ASX today − Australian shares are following commodities in Week 3, with fresh records for everything from gold, silver, and copper to WTI and Brent Crude oil, helping the local bourse on to a +0.4% advance in futures.
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Aussie stocks had been looking to follow U.S. trends − all three major indexes are lower over there today − but strengthening commodities seems to be enough for us to dodge the red arrows that had slowly been brewing.
Oil has ticked up to its highest since October as traders keep one eye on the unrest in Iran, especially after Americans were ordered to leave airbases.
And precious metals have been even stronger again, with gold, silver, copper, and even tin all hitting record highs early this year. China has been buying up everything it can get its hands on, while nerves around Iran and Trump’s shock Venezuela raid have both sent traders towards safety early in CY26.
In a similar vein, lithium has cracked US$2,000 tonne for the first time in more than two years, which will have most definitely a flow-on effect for all the many lithium hopefuls we have across the ASX at large.
Now, under all that commodity excitement, here’s the stock news.
ASX stocks to watch
First up, no one particular stock will benefit from this one, but Oz’s peak union body has this morning signed a deal with Microsoft designed to protect workers’ rights amid AI’s meteoric rise in the Aussie workplace.
In news with a ticker attached, BlueScope (ASX:BSL) has announced a special $438 million dividend for investors. While likely welcome, it does feel like planned M&A posturing right when BlueScope is expecting to field another super-sized, multibillion-dollar bid from Stokes’ SGH and Steel Dynamics.
Elsewhere, Bell Potter has upgraded PLS Group (ASX:PLS) to “buy” on lithium’s revived pricing. Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) and Liontown Limited (ASX:LTR) have similarly been dubbed good lithium pickups.
And, Ora Banda (ASX:OBM) has again expanded mineralisation at Waihi’s Golden Pole Lode1 with “thick, high-grade results.”
Buck and ore
Now – in forex, the Oz dollar buys 66.8 U.S. cents.
Looking at commodities, all in the greenback,
Iron Ore has softened -0.1%, to $108.25 a tonne in Singapore,
Brent Crude is down -2%, to $64.49/Bbl,
Gold is at $4,637 an ounce, and,
US natgas futures dumped -10%, to $3.09 per gigajoule.
That’s HotCopper’s Market Open, I’m Isaac McIntyre – good luck, happy trading.
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