Australian Stock Market Stages Strong Recovery Led by Banking and Mining Sectors
The Australian stock market experienced a significant rebound on Monday, February 9, 2026, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index climbing 1.5% to reach 8,840.50 points by 2312 GMT. This recovery comes after Friday's substantial 2% decline, which marked the market's weakest performance since April 2025 when U.S. President Donald Trump implemented liberation day tariffs.
Banking Sector Leads the Recovery
Financial stocks played a crucial role in the market's resurgence, with the financials sub-index advancing as much as 1.2% during the trading session. The "Big Four" Australian banks demonstrated solid gains ranging between 0.4% and 1.2%, providing substantial support to the broader market recovery.
Investor attention remains focused on the upcoming earnings reports from three of these major banks scheduled for this week, while National Australia Bank is expected to release its financial results next week. These anticipated earnings announcements have contributed to renewed investor confidence in the banking sector.
Mining Stocks Power Market Advance
The resources sector delivered even more impressive performance, with the mining sub-index surging as much as 2.9% during Monday's trading session. This strong showing was supported by copper prices rebounding above the significant $13,000 per metric ton threshold on Friday.
Leading mining companies demonstrated substantial gains, with BHP Group, Rio Tinto, and Fortescue posting increases between 0.4% and 3.9%. Gold mining companies also contributed to the sector's strength, ending their two-day losing streak with gains reaching as high as 4.3%.
This precious metals recovery followed bullion price increases on Friday, driven by a softer U.S. dollar and ongoing concerns surrounding U.S.-Iran negotiations taking place in Oman. Among gold miners, Resolute Mining and Predictive Discovery emerged as standout performers with gains of 8.7% and 8.5% respectively, making them the top gainers within the mining sub-index.
Broad-Based Market Strength
The market recovery extended beyond banking and mining sectors, with healthcare, technology, and real-estate stocks registering gains between 0.5% and 4.2%. This broad-based strength indicates widespread investor optimism returning to the Australian market.
However, not all companies participated in the market advance. Investment manager Challenger experienced significant pressure, falling as much as 7.5% to become the benchmark's top underperformer. This decline followed the company's A$1.16 billion takeover bid for non-bank lender Pepper Money.
In contrast to Challenger's performance, Pepper Money shares surged dramatically, rising as much as 33.5% to reach their highest level since early December 2025, reflecting investor approval of the proposed acquisition.
Earnings Season in Focus
Market participants are closely monitoring the ongoing corporate earnings season, with several significant companies scheduled to report this week. Biotech giant CSL and mining company South32 are among the notable firms expected to release financial results that could influence market direction in coming sessions.
While Australian markets demonstrated strength, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index moved in the opposite direction, declining 0.27% to 13,407.84 points. This marks the second consecutive session of losses for New Zealand's primary stock index, highlighting divergent market movements across the Tasman Sea region.
The Australian market's strong recovery suggests investor confidence may be returning after Friday's significant decline, though market participants remain cautious as they assess upcoming corporate earnings and global economic developments.
