The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is charging higher today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) miner closed yesterday trading for $40.59. In morning trade on Tuesday, shares are changing hands for $42.20 apiece, up 4.0%.
That sees the big Aussie miner racing ahead of the benchmark, with the ASX 200 up a slender 0.1% at this same time.
And it's not just the BHP share price that's outperforming.
Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) shares are up 4.9% at $125.28. And the Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) share price is leading the pack, up 6.9% at $20.58 a share.
This is a welcome turnaround for stockholders, who've watched shares of the big Aussie mining stocks slump this year amid tepid commodity prices.
Here's what's spurring renewed enthusiasm today.
BHP share price lifts off on renewed Chinese growth hopes
The BHP share price action on the ASX today is similar to what we witnessed in US markets overnight.
BHP is also listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and shares finished the day up 4.6% on the NYSE.
The big tailwind helping boost the ASX 200 miner looks to be the 2.2% increase in the iron ore price to US$105.60 per tonne. Iron ore is the biggest revenue earner for BHP, Fortescue, and Rio Tinto.
Copper, BHP's second-biggest revenue contributor, also gained overnight, up a lesser 0.6% to US$9,123 per tonne.
Traders are piling back into industrial metals and helping boost the BHP share price following Monday's meeting of China's economic policy-setting Politburo, spearheaded by President Xi Jinping.
As you can likely guess by the investors' exuberant reactions, China indicated that significant new stimulus measures are in the pipeline for 2025.
China's economy has been struggling since reopening from the nation's extended COVID lockdowns. And with Donald Trump returning to the White House and vowing to reinstitute hefty tariffs on Chinese exports, the Middle Kingdom is gearing up to ensure growth targets are met in 2025.
The Politburo said monetary policy in 2025 will be "moderately loose", with leadership taking a "more proactive" approach to fiscal policies. The officials were also focused on lifting China's sluggish (and steel-hungry) property sector and vowing to "forcefully lift consumption."
What are the experts saying?
Commenting on the stimulus signals sending the BHP share price soaring today, Zhaopeng Xing, senior strategist at ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ), said (quoted by The Australian Financial Review):
The wording in this Politburo meeting statement is unprecedented. The policy tone shows strong confidence against Trump's threats.
Goldman Sachs' Hui Shan added, "Relative to the low market expectations prior to the meeting, we view the outcome as an upside surprise due to stronger easing rhetoric."
In potentially good news for BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue shareholders, Shan expects to see further demand stoking stimulus measures unleashed early in 2025.
Despite today's welcome boost, the BHP share price remains down 16% in 2024.
