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ASX closes higher as gold, large miners lead surge

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The news: The Australian sharemarket finished higher as gold miners surged on higher commodity prices.

The benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.30% to end at 8,828.3 with seven out of the 11 sectors finishing in the green.

The materials sector (+1.4%) finished higher as gold miners tracked gains in the spot price. Emerald Resources (+6.7%), Ramelius Resources (+5.6%) and Bellevue Gold (+4.5%) were all up. Large diversified miners BHP (+1.6%), Fortescue (+2.1%) and Rio Tinto (+2.3%) also finished higher.

Meanwhile, James Hardie (-12.7%) shares fell, which the company said “may have been affected” by a Bloomberg report.

Biggest movers:

  • Light and Wonder (+8.2%) – Reiterated its full-year financial outlook after recording a 78% jump in net income for the third quarter.
  • Amcor (+5%) – Delivered a 92% jump in quarterly earnings following the company’s acquisition of Berry Global earlier in the year.
  • DroneShield (-11.7%) and Electro Optic Systems (-6.2%) – Counterdrone technology manufacturers saw their share prices slump as a huge rally earlier in the year continues to unwind.
  • Neuren Pharma (-10.4%) – Reported a 24% rise in royalties from quarterly US sales of its Retts syndrome treatment Daybue.
  • IPH (-5.4%) – Announced that managing director and CEO Andrew Blattman intends to retire in the second half of 2026.

Other news:

  • Vicinity Centres (+2.9%) – Reiterated its FY26 guidance as portfolio retail sales lifted 4.4% in the first quarter, with CEO Peter Huddle calling it “an encouraging start” to the year.
  • Breville (+1.1%) – CEO Jim Clayton told investors that its new products were performing well at the start of the financial year, as the company continues to move its manufacturing base outside of China following the introduction of US tariffs.
  • IGO (-2%) – Added Vanessa Guthrie to its board, succeeding outgoing chair Michael Nossal who steps down on 1 January 2026.
  • Seven West Media (-2.1%) – Faced a remuneration strike at its annual general meeting after 35.5% of proxy votes were against the pay report.
  • NAB (-3.3%) – Posted a full-year net profit of $6.759 billion, down 2.9% year on year as credit impairment charges increased in the period.

What’s ahead:

  • Companies that are holding their annual general meetings tomorrow include Spark New Zealand, Nine Entertainment and Qantas.

By Brandon How