The Australian sharemarket rebounded close to its record high, tracking gains in New York after the Federal Reserve signalled a US rate cut remains on the table and fresh data indicated the Chinese construction sector could be on the cusp of a recovery.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index rallied 50.6 points, 0.6 per cent, to 8589.2 on Thursday – just shy of its record close of 8603 set last week – with seven out of 11 sectors in the green, led by a bounce in retail, property, industrial and bank stocks.

The big miners advanced as iron ore futures rose 2 per cent, boosted by data from the China Construction Machinery Association on Thursday that showed Chinese domestic excavator sales, which usually ramp up as builders prepare for projects, climbed nearly 23 per cent from a year earlier during the January-June period.

This followed data released on Wednesday that showed China’s consumer price index rose 0.1 per cent year-on-year in June, reversing a 0.1 per cent decline the month before.

“This snapped a run of four months of consumer deflation and buoyed hopes that stimulus measures and easing trade risks with the US will boost China-facing stocks by the end of the year,” said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore.

BHP rose 1.2 per cent to $38.30 on the news, with Rio Tinto up 1 per cent to $108.62, and Fortescue climbing 1.9 per cent to $16.51.

Gold miners bounced back from Wednesday’s sharp selloff as the precious metal traded for $US3330 an ounce, up $US30 from a day before, with Evolution up 3.6 per cent to $7.55. Newmont and Perseus both rose 3.2 per cent to $90.29 and $3.56, respectively.

But Sandfire Resources came off 0.7 per cent to $11.10 – extending its 3.5 per cent drop on Wednesday – after US President Donald Trump confirmed his 50 per cent copper tariffs would become effective from August 1. Capstone Copper dropped 1.4 per cent to $9.15, while fellow copper producer Aeris Resources fell 2.6 per cent to 19¢.

Wall Street climbed overnight, shrugging off the latest US tariff news that included Trump slapping Brazil with a 50 per cent levy on goods flowing into the US. Investors also digested minutes from the June meeting of the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting committee, which showed most participants judged a rate cut would be appropriate this year, with a couple favouring one as soon as this month.

Risk on

This led to a pile back into the sharemarket, helping Nvidia’s market value to briefly climb above $US4 trillion after its biggest customers committed to more artificial intelligence spending. The shares closed up 1.8 per cent to $US162.88 in New York trading, to finish with a market value of $US3.97 trillion.

Cryptocurrencies also caught the tailwind, with bitcoin surging past $US112,000 for the first time.

On the ASX, investors piled in to the real estate sector, which had fallen for two days in a row after the Reserve Bank unexpectedly held interest rates on Tuesday. Charter Hall rose 1.5 per cent to $19.40, GPT 1.4 per cent to $5.08, Centuria 1.7 per cent to $1.78, Scentre 1.1 per cent to $3.75, and Vicinity 1.2 per cent to $2.54.

The banks rallied too, following a recent dip, with Commonwealth Bank and ANZ edging up 0.8 per cent to $180.37 and $30.29, respectively, National Australia Bank up 1.2 per cent to $39.74, and Westpac up 0.5 per cent to $33.87.

The supermarkets also gained, with Woolworths up 1 per cent to $31.16 and Coles 1.1 per cent to $20.52, along with discretionary retail stocks including Harvey Norman 1.3 per cent to $5.49, Breville 1.6 per cent to $30.32, and JB Hi-Fi 1.4 per cent to $110.48.

Stocks in focus

In corporate news, Telix Pharmaceuticals came off 3.6 per cent to $24.47, paring strong gains made on Wednesday, after Morningstar said that while it was “enviably” exempt from any potential tariffs laid on the sector by Trump, it remained “overvalued”.

Jewellery chain Lovisa jumped 5.1 per cent to $33.06, helped along by Morgan Stanley’s raising of its target price from $31.50 to $35.

Imricor Medical Systems dropped 15.1 per cent to $1.32 after the cardiac catheter company indicated regulatory approval for one of its products in the US had fallen behind schedule.

Pro Medicus continued its recent charge, rising 1 per cent to $317.69, despite a modest slump in the healthcare sector. The stock is up almost 30 per cent this year.

And Platinum Asset Management leapt 13.1 per cent to 56¢ after UBS retained its “neutral” rating on the stock but increased its 12-month price target from 47 cents to 53 cents. Morningstar also said its merger with L1 could “inject new life” into the stock.