{
  "id": 9291455,
  "title": "Miners buoy Australian shares on copper boost; banks and energy stocks cap gains",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/miners-buoy-australian-shares-on-copper-boost-banks-and-energy-stocks",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-23T06:35:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Recorder",
    "slug": "business-recorder",
    "url": "https://www.brecorder.com/news/40440834/miners-buoy-australian-shares-on-copper-boost-banks-and-energy-stocks-cap-gains"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Australian shares managed a slight increase on Wednesday, propelled primarily by the performance of major miners. The S&P/ASX 200 index edged up by 0.3% to 8,787.90, according to trading data at 0010 GMT. The index maintained its upward trend from Tuesday, which also saw a 0.3% rise. The resources sub-index, comprising over a quarter of the Australian stock market, saw a substantial gain of more than 2% – its sharpest daily increase since late August. This rally was driven by copper prices, which continued to climb as China, the major consumer, increased its stockpiles of the metal ahead of the upcoming holidays. Industry giants BHP and Rio Tinto both saw their shares climb by 1.6% and 1% respectively. Gold miners also added 3.4% to their prices, reaching a near three-week high. Notable gains were also seen from Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining, both of which rose between 3% and 4%. Meanwhile, real estate stocks climbed by 0.3%, while the consumer staples sub-index increased marginally by 0.2%. In contrast, financial stocks suffered a decline of 0.3%, with the \"Big Four\" banks experiencing losses ranging from 0.1% to 0.6%, with National Australia Bank being an exception. Insurance Australia Group faced its largest one-day decline in a month, marking a 3.1% drop and emerging as one of the benchmark's largest losers. This was after the Australian competition regulator halted the planned merger between National Australia Bank and RAC Insurance. Energy stocks also hit a near four-week low, falling by 0.9% as crude prices slipped following expectations of increased Middle Eastern supplies. The technology sector, however, failed to match the Nasdaq Composite's record high over the weekend, with shares declining by 0.4%. WiseTech Global and Xero both shed shares, falling as much as 1.4% and 3% respectively, to their lowest levels since March 2020. Elsewhere, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index saw a modest rise of around 10 points to 13,885.73.",
  "summary": "Australian shares eked out slight gains on Wednesday, largely driven by heavyweight miners, while losses in banks and energy firms limited further strength. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.3% to 8,787.90 by 0010 GMT. The benchmark finished up 0.3% Tuesday. The resources sub-index, accounting for more than a quarter of the Australian bourse, advanced more than 2% in its steepest daily gain since late…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}