A surge in mining stocks has propelled the Australian sharemarket upward as investors anticipate a key announcement regarding additional stimulus from China.
At 11:30am, the S&P/ASX 200 is 0.15 per cent higher at 8,217.20, despite starting the day in negative territory after a sluggish performance on Wall Street.
BHP, a major player in the index, saw a rise of 1.2 per cent, while Rio Tinto gained 2.2 per cent, buoyed by a jump in iron ore futures, which surpassed US$111.75 in Singapore. Citi has projected that the price of the steelmaking material could hit US$120 if Beijing follows through with a public spending initiative that the markets are anticipating.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 12 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Materials, up 1.30 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Information Technology, down 1.14 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC), trading 2.41 per cent higher at $7.425. It is followed by shares in Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) and Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC).
The worst-performing large cap is Pro Medicus (ASX:PME), trading 3.44 per cent lower at $176.03. It is followed by shares in QBE Insurance Group (ASX:QBE) and Spark New Zealand (ASX:SPK).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2667.70 an ounce.
One Australian dollar is buying 67.65 US cents.