Australian shares rose at the open after a rally in the materials sector, following an agreement between Australia and the US to invest a combined $US3 billion ($4.6 billion) in critical minerals projects.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 added 0.6%, 52.2 points to 9084.1 at the start of trade, buoyed by a 1.8% rally in the miners.

On the ASX, the miners were among the best performers, with Alcoa rallying 8.2% and Arafura jumping 18.8%. The US and Australia will pump $US1 billion each into Australian and US projects over the next six months, including a $US200 million equity investment in a West Australian gallium plant owned by Alcoa and a $US100 million stake in the Gina Rinehart-backed Arafura Nolans rare earths mine.

Index heavyweight BHP added 2.1% after the miner underlined its faith in global demand for iron ore remaining solid, despite flagging an expected slowdown of growth in China. The mining giant mined a record amount of the commodity in the three months to September 30. Full-year production guidance remained unchanged.

Elsewhere in commodities, gold advanced to a fresh record high as investors piled into the precious metal despite easing trade tensions. Traders instead took advantage of a selloff on Friday to buy more bullion, sending the metal to an all-time high of $US4381.52 an ounce.

The climb locally tracked overnight movements in the US after positive tech earnings pushed Wall Street sharply higher. A broad rally sent all three major Wall Street indexes to a sharply higher close. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial were both up 1.1% and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.4%.

Super Retail rose 2.3% after appointing BCF managing director Paul Bradshaw as chief executive. Bradshaw is currently managing director of the boating, camping and fishing gear chain, which is a subsidiary of Super Retail and has been with the wider company since 2019. He is set to begin his new role on November 1.

Cleanaway Waste Management lost 2.9% even as it reaffirmed its FY26 earnings guidance and says a cost reduction program at the company is currently underway. The ASX-listed rubbish collector is expected to deliver underlying earnings before interest and taxes in FY26 of between $470 million and $500 million.

Investment platform business Hub24 climbed 8% after its platform funds under administration has increased 8% over the September quarter to $122 billion, up 33% from a year earlier.