ASX closes higher; DroneShield, tech sector rally
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The news: The Australian sharemarket finished higher as the tech sector led gains. DroneShield was the best performer on the ASX 200 even though there was no company news.
The benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.47% to end at 8,628 as eight of the 11 sectors finished in the green.
The tech sector (+2.2%) was the best performing as Xero (+2.3%), Technology One (+2.6%), Life360 (+2.6%), Codan (+5.3%) and Megaport (+3.8%) finished higher, tracking an overnight rally for US tech stocks.
WiseTech (+3.2%) also posted gains after completing its review into matters relating to Richard White. The review found no evidence that White inappropriately used company funds in relation to two personal relationships he had with former staff.
The finance sector (+1.1%) also performed well as Commonwealth Bank (+1.8%), Westpac (+1.3%) and NAB (+0.8%) finished higher, although ANZ (-0.03%) finished flat.
Macquarie (+1.5%) lifted even as its cash equities brokerage arm admitted to misreporting millions of short sales over several years. Macquarie Securities and ASIC will jointly ask the NSW Supreme Court to impose a penalty of $35 million.
Biggest movers:
- DroneShield (+11.7%) – Was the best performer on the ASX 200 despite there being no company specific news. Bell Potter analyst Baxter Kirk issued a research note on Wednesday that reiterated his ‘buy’ rating but cut its target price from $5.30 to $4.40 as he expects demand to lift in 2026.
- Uranium miners – Boss Energy (+11.4%), Paladin Energy (+9.3%) and Deep Yellow (+8,8%) were among the biggest gainers on the ASX 200.
- Austal (+5.8%) – Awarded a $135 million contract extension for the construction of two evolved cap-class patrol boats for the Australian Border Force.
- Netwealth (-6.5%) – Announced on Thursday it is being sued by ASIC over failures relating to the collapsed First Guardian Master Fund. Also agreed to pay over $100 million in compensation to more than 1,000 Australians who invested their superannuation in First Guardian and has admitted it contravened the Corporations Act.
Other news:
- Bapcor (+2.4%) – Received approval from all lenders in its debt syndicate to temporarily increase its net leverage ratio covenant to 3.5 times adjusted EBITDA for the 31 December 2025 and 30 June 2026 testing points.
- NIB Holdings (+0.9%) – Flagged $17 million in non-recurring cash expenses for the first half of FY26, higher than had been flagged at its FY25 results briefing in August.
- Santos (-2.1%) – Appointed Lachlan Harris as the new chief financial officer, effective immediately.
- Coles (-1.2%) – The ACCC will not oppose Coles' acquisition of two leasehold interests for new supermarkets in Mount Atkinson and Deanside in Victoria, subject to a court-enforceable undertaking.
What’s ahead:
- The University of Michigan will release revised US consumer sentiment data for December on Saturday at 2:00am AEDT.
- The US National Association of Realtors will release existing home sales data for November on Saturday at 2:00am AEDT.
