Australia stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 up 1.98%

Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.98% to a new one-month high, driven by strong gains in gold, metals & mining, and materials stocks. Breadth was positive, with 768 advancers versus 398 decliners. Standout gainers included Genesis Minerals (+11.04%), Liontown Resources (+10.33%), and A2 Milk (+9.82%), while News Corp B (-4.71%), Viva Energy (-3.86%), and REA Group (-3.07%) lagged, with REA also touching 52-week lows. Market volatility eased as the S&P/ASX 200 VIX fell 1.24% to 12.99. Commodity moves were supportive for miners: gold futures jumped 2.14% to $4,201.87/oz, while crude oil and Brent fell about 2%. Currency moves were subdued, with AUD/USD flat and the US dollar index slightly lower. Overall, the session reflected broad risk-on sentiment and sector rotation into resource-related names.