ASX closes higher; IperionX leads gains on US Department of War win
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: The Australian sharemarket finished higher, as defence contractor IperionX led gains on the ASX 200.
The benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.17% to end at 8,787.7 with four out of the 11 sectors finishing in green.
The healthcare sector (-1.4%) was worst performing after US President Donald Trump announced that a 100% tariff on pharmaceuticals would come into effect on 1 October. CSL (-1.9%), which makes up the bulk of pharmaceutical exports to the US finished lower.
Telix Pharmaceuticals (-3.5%) also finished lower even though most of its operations are in the US. Pro Medicus (-2.4%) and Sonic Healthcare (-1.7%) also fell but they are not expected to be affected by the tariffs. Clarity Pharmaceuticals (+0.5%) told the exchange it will be “unaffected” by the tariffs.
The materials sector (+0.9%) was the best performing as BHP (+1.3%) and Rio Tinto (+1.2%) posted gains. The finance sector (+0.5%) was buoyed by gains for Commonwealth Bank (+0.7%), NAB (+1%), Westpac (+0.7%) and ANZ (+0.2%).
Biggest movers:
- Vulcan Energy (+15.6%) – Signed a €110 million ($196 million) contract with a consortium of European firms Turboden and ROM Technik to develop, procure and construct a commercial geothermal power plant near Landau, Germany, as part of its phase one Lionheart project.
- IperionX (+6.1%) – Received another USD25 million ($38.25 million) commitment through the US Department of War’s industrial base analysis and sustainment program. This builds on existing contract wins under the program.
Other news:
- Elanor Commercial Property Fund (+0.7%) – Financial and risk adviser Kroll Australia has deemed family office Lederer Group’s offer to acquire listed Elanor Commercial Property Fund as “neither fair nor reasonable” to non-associated shareholders.
- NextDC (+0.3%) – Appointed AirAsia Aviation Group chair Jamaludin Ibrahim as a non-executive director, effective 1 November 2025.
- Fortescue (-0.1%) – Finalised its acquisition of Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Nabrawind, which the mining giant had been a minority investor in since 2023. Also announced supply agreements with Chinese energy transition businesses BYD, LONGi, XCMG and Envision Energy.
What’s ahead:
- The US Bureau of Economic Analysis is expected to release producer consumption expenditure data for August tonight at 10:30pm AEST.
