Good afternoon and welcome to The ASX Today. It’s hump day in Week 30, and the Australian share market has been trading modestly higher, with strength largely across the mining and energy sectors helping offset trailing weakness in healthcare, technology, and the major banks.
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The ASX 200 is up 0.2 per cent as investors return to resources, with copper climbing to its highest level in more than a month and gold rebounding.
Brent crude has also moved higher, rising 1.7 per cent to above US$92 a barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump played down the prospect of near-term talks with Iran while threatening to make more strikes.
Meanwhile, traders are looking ahead to tomorrow’s Oz labour force data, one of the RBA’s key inputs ahead of its August policy meeting.
Today on the index, mining giants are leading the gains. BHP has climbed 2.9 per cent, Rio Tinto is up 2.5 per cent, and South32 has added 3.6 per cent as stronger copper prices boost sentiment across the sector. Gold miners are also stronger, with bullion rising 1 per cent to around US$4,120 an ounce. Newmont has gained 2.7 per cent, and Northern Star is up 3.4 per cent.
Higher oil prices lifted energy, with Santos adding 1 per cent and Karoon Energy climbing 3.5 per cent. Paladin Energy has rallied 3.9 per cent after forecasting uranium production of 5.6 million pounds from its Langer Heinrich mine in FY26-27 following the completion of its operational ramp-up.
On the other side, healthcare the biggest drag. Pro Medicus has fallen 4 per cent, while CSL is down 3.3 per cent after Morgan Stanley lowered its target.
Tech also under pressure. TechnologyOne has dropped 3.4 per cent, Xero is down 3.5 per cent, and WiseTech Global has slipped 2.7 per cent after the acquisition of an AI-powered supply chain company for $10 million.
Elsewhere, Lynas Rare Earths has fallen 6.3 per cent after increasing the expected cost of its heavy rare earths expansion project in Malaysia. Ramelius Resources has gained 2.8 per cent after reporting high-grade drilling results that strengthen the case for its next underground gold mine.
SkyCity had a good day, too, jumping more than 8 per cent after selling Auckland’s Grand Hotel; proceeds will go to reducing debt. And candle retailer Dusk has slumped more than 13 per cent after the ACCC launched legal proceedings alleging it sold products containing non-compliant batteries.
Finally, Origin says it is investigating a potential cyber security incident involving customer data. The company has been saying there is no indication that credit card or bank account details have been accessed.
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