ASX 200 materials shares won the week by a mile, rising 4% whilst the other market sectors experienced smaller lifts or losses in value.
The gold rush continued last week, with the gold price smashing through a fresh record high of US$4,340 per ounce on Friday.
The four biggest ASX 200 gold shares all set new price records on Friday.
Why is the gold price so hot?
The primary driver is aggressive gold purchasing among central banks seeking to diversify their reserves via the safe-haven asset.
Last week, Trading Economics analysts said greater US-China trade tensions, the ongoing US government shutdown, and expectations of further interest rate cuts in the US encouraged more gold buying last week.
The analysts said:
The precious metal has surged more than 60% so far this year, supported by strong central bank buying, expectations of aggressive rate cuts, and heightened geopolitical risks.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell's recent comments on signs of a weakening labor market led investors to nearly fully price in a 25-bps rate cut at this month's meeting, with another likely in December, boosting gold's appeal in a low-interest-rate environment.
Australia's chances of an interest rate cut strengthened after a 0.3% lift in unemployment to a four-year high of 4.5% in September.
The ASX 200 ripped on the back of the news, with the index reaching a new record of 9,109.7 points on Thursday.
Materials sector's lead not just about gold…
Last week's strong rise for ASX 200 materials shares wasn't just about gold, with other commodities trading solidly, too.
The iron ore price traded above US$110 last week, buoying ASX 200 iron ore shares.
Copper futures traded around US$4.90 per pound, supporting ASX 200 copper shares last week.
And silver, which is enjoying a stronger run than gold, up 88% in 2025, versus gold at 66%, reached a new record of US$54 per ounce.
On Monday, Far East Capital, a mining investment advisory firm, said investors were buying across many mining sectors, not just gold.
Far East Capital commented:
The last two weeks have been extraordinary — in a very positive sense. It is rare to see such aggressive buying right across the sectors as FOMO really took hold.
Given such amazing increases in such a short time frame, logic will tell you that there will inevitably be some profit taking, soon.
However, if the gold price remains above US$4,000/ oz, you could even see more money being sucked into the market.
It is probably too late to be buying many stocks right now as they have run so hard. You need to see if the upward momentum is maintainable into the new week but many stocks could fall by 10-20% or more in that period of deliberation.
ASX 200 mining shares led the market last week
Let's take a look at how the biggest mining stocks performed last week.
The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price rose 3.27% to close out the week at $43.60.
The Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) share price ripped 5.32% to $20.18.
Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) shares rose 4.58% to finish at a new 52-week high of $130.88 on Friday.
The market's largest ASX 200 gold mining share set a new all-time record at $26.52 on Friday.
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) shares lifted 8.32% over the week to close at $26.05.
The Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price also set a new record at $12.04 last week.
Evolution Mining shares closed at $11.67, up 6.77% for the week.
Newmont Corporation CDI (ASX: NEM) shares reached a record $152.72 on Friday before closing at $149.96, up 16% for the week.
Last week, Blackwattle Investment Partners labelled Newmont the 'highest quality gold miner globally'.
Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD) shares ripped 16.41% higher to close at $6.81 after a pleasing September quarter update.
The Genesis Minerals share price set a new record at $7.17 on Friday.
The following chart shows how the four biggest ASX 200 gold shares have performed in 2025 against the benchmark index.
ASX 200 silver share, Silver Mines Limited (ASX: SVL), hit a 52-week high of 23 cents on Friday before closing at 22 cents, up 7.5% for the week.
Among the fallers last week was Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN), down 5.37% to $41.77 apiece.
Pure-play copper share, Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR), also fell 2.67% to $15.70.
ASX 200 market sector snapshot
Here's how the 11 market sectors stacked up last week, according to CommSec data.
Over the five trading days:
| S&P/ASX 200 market sector | Change last week |
| Materials (ASX: XMJ) | 4.03% |
| A-REIT (ASX: XPJ) | 1.69% |
| Healthcare (ASX: XHJ) | 1.33% |
| Consumer Staples (ASX: XSJ) | 0.16% |
| Utilities (ASX: XUJ) | (0.12%) |
| Financials (ASX: XFJ) | (0.55%) |
| Industrials (ASX: XNJ) | (0.68%) |
| Communication (ASX: XTJ) | (1.18%) |
| Energy (ASX: XEJ) | (1.67%) |
| Consumer Discretionary (ASX: XDJ) | (1.89%) |
| Information Technology (ASX: XIJ) | (4.29%) |
