S&P 500 — US Large Cap Index
FTSE 100 — UK Blue Chips
Euro Stoxx 50 — Eurozone Leaders
DAX 40 — German Equities
CAC 40 — French Market Index
Nikkei 225 — Japan Benchmark
Hang Seng — Hong Kong Index
Shanghai Composite — China Mainland
ASX 200 — Australian Market
TSX Composite — Canada Index
Nifty 50 — India Large Cap
STI Index — Singapore Market
KOSPI — South Korea Index
Bovespa — Brazil Equities
JSE Top 40 — South Africa Index
IPC Index — Mexico MarketThe S&P/ASX 200 finished 0.5% higher at 8,862 on Thursday, hitting its highest level since November 3, as broad-based gains lifted the market, led by a surge in mining stocks amid rising base and precious metal prices. Heavyweight miners hit record closing highs for a third straight session, rising 1.1%, supported by strong Chinese demand for iron ore. The sub-index has climbed steadily since mid-2025, gaining 40% between July and December and nearly 8% so far this month. The world’s largest listed miner BHP closed at its highest in over two years, while iron ore miner Rio Tinto rose 0.4% to a one-week high. The two mining giants announced plans to jointly develop neighboring Pilbara operations in Western Australia to extract up to 200 million metric tons of iron ore. Additionally, financial stocks ended 0.5% higher, led by the ‘Big Four’ banks which gained 0.4%–2.6%. However, the banking sub-index is down over 1.5% this month amid policy shifts and high valuations.
