As a Chinese EV battery maker halts two of its mines, could this be the start of a turnaround in the fortunes of lithium locally?

MARKET WRAP:

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• The surge for Materials was built on the back of lithium
• Mineral Resources surged 16%, Liontown lifted by 14.3%, Pilbara Minerals was up 13.1% and IGO jumped by just under 5%.
• BHP up 1.8%, Fortescue gaining 2.6% and Rio Tinto rising 1.2%
• REA group shares down 2.2% to $197.99.
• Our local tech companies went backwards, with NextDC losing 5.6% and Wisetech dropping 0.6%.
• While the banks were down, with the Big Four suffering between 1.5 and 1.9%

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