End of Day – Thu 3 Mar

• The ASX 200 rose 35 points (+0.5%) as commodities rose strongly across the board, oil, iron ore and coal showing serious strength. Well off early highs as we prepare for another bumpy night. Miners were sought out and bought up, BHP up 3.6%, FMG up 4.2% and STO rising 1.7%. WHC up 10.6%, not sure how rain is affecting production at Maules Creek but prices have doubled at Newcastle in a few days. YAL rose 11.0% and SMR in a trading halt as it takes advantage of demand to raise capital. Gold miners under pressure as safe haven selling saw bullion drop. 
• Base metals better, IGO up 4.4%, lithium stocks string, PLS up 5.3% and CXO rising 5.3%. Coal and oil stocks a feature, SOL up 3.4% and NHC up 4.3%. Healthcare a little sick as CSL fell 1.3% and SHL down another 2.2%. Industrials weighed down by dividends, REITs under a little pressure as bond yields rose to 2.18% again. Banks flat with the Big Bank Basket unchanged. Tech mixed as SQ2 fell 3.1% and CPU up 0.6%. The All-Tech Index down 0.5 %. In corporate news, pretty quiet. 
• Economic news with building approvals down 27.9% in January. Must have been omicron affected. Asian markets mixed with Japan up 1.3%, China up 0.1% and HK up 0.5%. 10-year yields up to 2.17%.

Why not sign up for a free trial? Get access to expert insights and independent research and become a better investor.