Aussie Housing Slump Accelerates as ASX Races to Record on Rate Hopes

The S&P/ASX 200 surged to an all-time high, adding 0.9% on Wednesday to close at a fresh record before pushing further to 9,275.60 by mid-morning Thursday. Gold miners lit up the board — Northern Star Resources jumped 5.3%, Evolution Mining climbed 5.2%, and bullion itself vaulted more than 4% to around US$4,250 an ounce, its biggest daily gain since February. The catalyst? Trump declared a Strait of Hormuz deal could arrive within 48 hours, slamming oil...