The words "Market Open ASX 200 Futures Tip FALL" appear stacked atop one another next to ASX company iconography.
The Market Online
The Market Online - At The Bell

Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights

Australian shares have found a ready-made shield in iron ore heading into Week 29 trade, with the metal’s surprise revival – which has carried on to our mining majors – softening the turbulence from Trump’s latest tariffs moves.

Listen to the HotCopper podcast for in-depth discussions and insights on all the biggest headlines from throughout the week. On Spotify, Apple, and more.

Iron ore is up as much as +4% over the last week (in Singapore) and is selling at US$99.50 on Monday; the metal’s best five-day performance since January.

BHP Group (ASX:BHP), Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), and Fortescue (ASX:FMG) have all benefited to the tune of +9% to +17% – and that rush for the majors has to date protected Oz shares from Trump firing away even more levies.

The U.S. President wants to impose 35% tariffs on Canada and already announced 30% levies on both the EU and Mexico in a weekend address.

Iron ore’s $100 hope is stronger, though, leaving ASX futures down just -0.29%.

Elsewhere in Oz news, those same mining majors shielding the local bourse will share potentially market-moving quarterly updates. Rio, BHP, and Santos (ASX:STO) are all on the June quarter docket through Monday.

Ballard Mining is also planning to join the ASX hustle at 11am today, the latest in a long line of June-July debutants. The Mt Ida-based explorer will list under ticker code “BM1” and is looking to raise $30 million at 25c a share.

In a similar vein, we’ll be watching Stepchange Holdings (ASX:STH) through Week 29 after its Thursday arrival failed to excite; it’s already down -10% in just two days.

After a quiet last week for stats, we’ll now see consumer confidence on Tuesday, building data on Wednesday, and labour force trends (for June) on Thursday.

The latter is the biggest, with both jobs and unemployment info to be highlighted.

More market news

Meet GeoGeorge: The HotCopper poster so accurate he got hired as an analyst

Against the grain: RBA holds cash rate in defiance of expectations

Looking at forex, the Aussie dollar is 65.7 US cents.

And to commodities, all in the greenback,

Iron Ore is, as mentioned, starting the week at $99.50 a tonne in Singapore,

Brent Crude is at $70.60,

Gold is at $3,370 per ounce, and,

US natgas futures are +2.17% higher at $3.14 per gigajoule.

That’s HotCopper’s Market Open, I’m Isaac McIntyre – good luck and happy trading.

Join the discussion: See what’s trending right now on Australia’s largest stock forum and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

More From The Market Online
Drill rig concept

EV Resources kicking off maiden drilling for antimony at Los Lirios, Mexico

EV Resources is geared up for a maiden drilling run right out the gate into 2026…
Mt Cattlin is a producing lithium mine located in WA.

‘Best for value’: Rio Tinto is quickly downsizing its once-grand Aussie lithium plans

Rio Tinto has given up 150,000 hectares in WA and will soon offload Mt Cattlin as…
The Market Online Video

ASX Market Open: Tech fumble on Wall Street to seep into Week 51 opening | Dec 15

ASX today – Australian shares are heading for a Monday fall, with futures down as much…

‘Comprehensive’ data hunt leads Ore Resources to 10 broad new prospect gold targets around Randalls South

Ore Resources has uncovered as many as ten broad new prospective targets at the Randall South…