The Australian sharemarket has ended the trading day stronger following a major boost in the price of iron ore.
A surge in iron ore prices led the increase in trades that set a fresh 14-month high in early trade.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index increased 1.3 per cent, or 92 points, to 7172.8, while the All Ordinaries ended the session up 1.3 per cent, or 94.6 points, to an index position of 7419.8.
The Australian dollar was a 78.6 US cents and the spot gold dollar value was $US1838.05 an ounce.
A hike in the price of iron ore to a record $US212 a tonne bolstered investor sentiment in major miners, which caused the market to inch closer to pre-coronavirus highs.
CommSec analyst Steven Daghlian said the ASX was edging closer to a full recovery after its fifth gain in the past six trading days.
“We have been inching our way closer to and the question now is whether or not there is enough fuel in the tank to get us there,”.
“At the moment we are about 0.7 per cent away from pre-pandemic highs.”
Pilbara Minerals secured top spot of the day as a result of the commodity price increase, gaining 10.6 per cent to $1.30.
Fortescue Metals up 7.9 per cent $24.79, while Rio Tinto gained 4.6 per cent to $132.94 and BHP edged 3.1 per cent higher to $51.65.
A2 Milk recorded its share price tumble 13.1 per cent to $6.10 following it released its fourth profit downgrade since September last year.
“One of the main things that is holding A2 back is the fact that borders are closed with China, which has been a real negative for the daigou channel,” Mr Daghlian said, in reference to shoppers who export products back to China.
