ASX closes flat despite RBA surprise cash rate hold
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The news: The Australian sharemarket closed flat after it recovered from a sharp selloff after the Reserve Bank defied market expectations by holding the cash rate at 3.85%.
The benchmark ASX 200 gained 0.02% to end at 8590.7 despite seven out of the 11 sectors finishing in red.
Consumer staples (-1.4%) was the worst performing sector with Woolworths (-1.3%) and Coles (-1.4%) both finishing lower. Among the big four banks Commonwealth Bank (+0.8%), ANZ (+0.3%) and NAB (+0.6%) finished higher while Westpac (-0.03%) finished lower.
Meanwhile, the telecommunications services sector (+0.5%) was the best performing. Telstra (+0.1%), REA Group (+1.6%) and CAR Group (+0.4%) finished higher.
Biggest movers:
- Gold miners – Made up eight of the top 10 ASX 200 performers as investors poured into the safe haven metal ahead of Trump's tariff deal deadline. Vault Minerals (+7.8%) was the top performer followed by West African Resources (+5.2%) and Westgold Resources (+4.4%).
- Droneshield (+4.1%) – Secured a $11.7 million two-year research and development deal with a defence department from an unspecified Five Eyes country.
Other news:
- Platinum Asset Management (+3%) – Announced binding merger terms with L1 Capital and flagged that its turnaround costs would was now expected to be $40 million, up from $30 million. During an investor call on the merger, chief executive Jeff Peters dodged questions about the board's decision to award him an extra payment of $670,000 despite large outflows.
- Domino’s (+2.4%) – UBS analysts upgraded their position on the stock to ‘buy’ from ‘neutral’ and lowered its price target from $25 to $22.
- Gold Road Resources (+0.3%) – Expects full-year output to be at the lower end of guidance, even after output increased in the June quarter.
- Cochlear (+0.3%) – Secured US Food and Drug Administration approval for its new Nucleus Nexa System, and its Nucleus Kanso 3 and Kanso 3 Nexa sound processors. It plans to launch the products in the US by the end of quarter one of fiscal year.
- Mineral Resources (-1%) – Announced that its new chair Malcolm Bundey is reviewing the transition process for managing director and chief executive Chris Ellison after a series of scandals late last year.
- Lifestyle Communities – Flagged that it is considering whether to appeal a decision ruling made by Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal president Ted Woodward regarding exit fees the retirement property developer had been charging some Melbourne residents. Remained in a trading halt.
What’s ahead:
- The National Bureau of Statistics of China will release data on the consumer price index and the producer price index for June tomorrow at 11:30am.
- The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will make an interest rate decision and a rate statement tomorrow at 12:00pm.
