ASX closes higher; Capstone Copper, Lynas Rare Earths gain
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The news: The Australian sharemarket finished higher as the materials sector benefited from a rally by copper miners and rare earths producers amid global supply concerns.
The benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.25% to end at 8,969.8. Seven out of the 11 sectors finished in the green.
The materials sector (+1.8%) was the best performing as copper miners rallied after Canadian firm Teck Resources cut production guidance through to 2028 for a mine in Chile and rare earth producers lifted after China imposed export restrictions on processing technologies.
Copper miners Capstone Copper (+7.6%) and Sandfire Resources (+5.9%) were among the biggest gainers on the ASX 200. Diversified miners South32 (+5.7%), BHP (+2.9%) and Rio Tinto (+1.6%) also posted gains.
Lynas Rare Earths' (+5.3%) shares hit a 14-year high after it announced an agreement with Noveon Magnetics to develop a rare earth magnet supply chain in the US. Iluka Resources (+2.5%), Arafura Resources (+8.8%) and Brazilian Rare Earths (+8.6%) also posted gains.
Nickel Industries (+8.7%) was the best performer on the ASX 200 despite there being no company specific news.
Biggest movers:
- Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (+7.6%) – Announced on Tuesday that Dieter Haberl would be the next CEO of Domino’s Japan, effective 20 October. Acting CEO Josh Kiliminik will leave the business on 30 March 2026 following a transition period.
- Austal (-9.6%) – The worst performer on the ASX 200 despite there being no company specific news.
- Gold miners – The spot price of the commodity eased after surging past USD4,000 per ounce on Wednesday. Regis Resources (-3.7%) was among the biggest losers.
- Guzman y Gomez (-2.3%) – Reported an 18.6% rise in first-quarter sales and announced a $100 million buyback to support the ongoing global restaurant rollout.
Other news:
- Liontown Resources (+1.5%) – Agreed to defer debt facility repayments under a debt facility and reduce volumes delivered to the Ford Motor Company under existing offtake agreements.
- ANZ (+1.3%) – Santander UK’s Christine Palmer has been appointed chief risk officer, HSBC executive Donald Patra has been appointed chief information officer, while McKinsey senior partner Pedro Rodeia has been appointed group executive for Australia retail.
- REA Group (+1.2%) – Flagged an 8% fall in first quarter buy listings year on year but said full-year listing volumes expected to “fall broadly in line with the prior year”.
- Netwealth (+0.8%) – Reached total funds under administration of $120.8 billion at the end of the September quarter, a 26.6% increase compared to the prior corresponding period.
- Elanor Commercial Property Fund (0%) – Family office Lederer Group again hit back at statements made by Elanor Commercial Property Fund in regards to Lederer’s bid to acquire it.
- Australian Clinical Labs (-0.4%) – Was ordered by the Federal Court on Wednesday to pay $5.8 million in relation to a data breach in February 2022. These are the first civil penalties ordered under the Privacy Act.
- Elders (-1%) – Warned that its full-year performance was negatively impacted by lower retail sales and thinner margins. The ACCC also said it will not oppose Elders' proposed acquisition of Delta Agribusiness after accepting a court-enforceable undertaking to sell six Delta stores in Western Australia.
What’s ahead:
- RBA governor Michele Bullock is scheduled to appear before the Senate Economics Legislation Committee for Senate Estimates tomorrow at 9:00am AEDT.
- BusinessNZ will release manufacturing index data for September tomorrow at 8:30am AEDT.
