ASX today – The ASX is being tipped to begin the week on a positive note after a strong finish on Wall Street prior to the weekend.
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While the S&P/ASX 200 index slipped to 9,058.9 points on Friday, it is hoped that the positive news from the US will see increased confidence from local investors.
Wall Street bounced back on Friday led by interest in crypto with Bitcoin climbing to $US78,000.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained around 0.43% while the Dow climbed nearly 0.98%.
Friday’s positive moves saw bitcoin jump for a fifth day in a row, climbing 7.3% to reach US$77,917, the best level since May.
On the precious metals front, the latest episode of the World Gold Council’s “Unearthed” unpacked gold’s push toward US$4,400 per ounce, as softer US economic data clouds the outlook for further Fed rate hikes.
Locally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.5 per cent in July, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The majority of the fall in employment came from males, which fell by 11,000 people. Female employment recorded a smaller fall of 5,000.
On the market news front:
Leading mining services group, Perenti’s (ASX: PRN) second half of the financial year delivered a strong full year result. Underlying revenue of $3.5 billion was steady compared to FY25.
Liberty (ASX: LFG) reported an eight per cent increase in statutory NPAT to $144 million for the year ended 30 June 2026.
Macmahon Holdings (ASX: MAH) subsidiary, Macmahon Contractors, has been awarded a 42-month extension at the Telfer gold mine in WA valued at $485 million.
Specialist mining finance firm Cutfield Freeman & Co has been appointed to support Tungsten Mining (ASX: TGN) in developing and executing an optimised funding strategy for the Watershed project.
Industrial Minerals (ASX: IND) has confirmed a strong gold target at the North Pool prospect within the Laverton gold project in WA.
Buck and ore
Now – in forex, the Oz dollar is buying US$0.716
Looking at commodities, all in the greenback,
Iron Ore was up 0.05 per cent to $95.21 a tonne in Singapore today,
Brent Crude was up 0.65 per cent to $94.390 per barrel,
Gold is selling at $4607.35,
US natgas futures were up 1.46 per cent to $2.7730 per gigajoule.
That’s HotCopper’s Market Open, I’m Colin Sandell-Hay – happy trading.
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