Mining stocks pulled the Australian sharemarket higher on Tuesday after Wall Street finished near records overnight, thanks to cooling trade tensions and solid company results.

Rare earths stocks rallied after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump signed a landmark critical minerals deal that will pave the way for joint rare earths projects between the two countries, as well as US projects in Australia. Gold miners also posted strong gains, as investors continued to pile into the precious metal.

The S&P/ASX 200 was up 63.40 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 9095.30 as of 12.40pm AEDT, building on its 0.4 per cent gain from Monday. The Australian dollar traded flat at US65.15¢ at 12.39pm AEDT.

Australia’s rare earths producers have had a massive run this year, which a

See Full Page