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ASX closes higher, gold, iron ore miners surge

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The news: The Australian sharemarket finished higher as gold miners were buoyed by high spot prices and as iron ore miners lifted.

The benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.56% to end at 8,808.5 despite only four of the 11 sectors finishing in the green.

The materials sector led gains on the exchange as gold miners were buoyed by record high prices for the commodity and Citi analysts lifted their near term price outlook. Greatland Resources (+5.2%), Ora Banda Mining (+5.2%), Catalyst Metals (+2.5%), Emerald Resources (+4.6%) and West African Resources (+4%) were among the biggest gainers.

Iron ore majors BHP (+2.3%), Fortescue (+0.8%) and Rio Tinto (+2.2%) also finished higher. Macquarie analysts lifted their 12-month price target on BHP from $43 per share to $48 and reiterated a neutral rating. Macquarie analysts also lifted their price target on Fortescue from $19.50 to $21 per share but reiterated an underperform rating.

The energy sector was the worst performer as oil refiners Viva Energy (-5.8%) and Ampol (-4.8%) fell. Brent crude prices touched its highest level since November after US President Donald Trump said he would impose a 25% tariff on countries “doing business” with Iran as authorities violently crackdown on widespread unrest.

Biggest movers:

  • Electro Optic Systems (+10.3%) – Shares lifted for a second day after announcing plans to acquire counterdrone system developer MARSS Group for a cash consideration of $54 million on Monday.
  • Austal (+6.7%) – The best performer on the ASX 200 despite there being no company specific news.
  • GQG Partners (-8.6%) – Funds under management (FUM) fell by USD2.2 billion ($3.31 billion) over December as net outflows for the year more than doubled over the period.

Other news:

  • Lynas Rare Earths (+1.9%) – Chief executive Amanda Lacaze is set to retire after 12 years in the role. She intends to remain with the company until the end of the current financial year.
  • Endeavour Group (-2.9%) – Expects to incur a pre-tax net expense of approximately $45 million, with $40 million of this relating to a provision for one-off cessation costs associated with the closure of the Melbourne Liquor Distribution Centre. First-half profit is also expected to be lower than the previous corresponding period.
  • Fletcher Building (-0.9%) – Reported a "modest improvement" in sales volumes for the second quarter, but CEO Andrew Reding has warned the company is unlikely to see "meaningful recovery" in volumes until 2027.
  • L1 Capital (-0.5%) – Reported a $700 million increase to its FUM over the December 2025 quarter, to $17.64 billion, driven by positive investment returns and strong inflows into its L1 Long Short Fund (0%).
  • Ansell (-0.4%) – Appointed former Electrolux Group CEO Jonas Samuelson as an independent non-executive director, effective 1 March.
  • 4DMedical – Entered a trading halt on the ASX pending an announcement about a capital raise. It is expected to raise $150 million.

What’s ahead:

  • Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey will address the Bellagio Group Meeting of economists and central bankers at 9:00pm AEDT. It is being hosted by the Bank of England.
  • The US Bureau of Labor Statistics will release consumer price index data for December on Wednesday at 12:30am AEDT.
  • Automatic Data Processing Inc. is expected to release weekly US employment change data overnight.

By Brandon How