Skip to content

Briefing

Market Wrap

ASX hits new record close; Liontown, Pilbara lead gains amid CATL mining halt

Make us a preferred source
Link copied

The news: The Australian sharemarket hit a new record close as lithium miners surged on news that the world's largest battery manufacturer CATL would halt mining operations at a major mine in China.

Reports said that CATL's licence expired which led to an increase in lithium carbonate futures prices higher on the Guangzhou Futures Exchange.

The benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.43% to end at 8,844.8 with eight of the 11 sectors finishing in the green. The previous record close was on 6 August at 8,843.7. It also set a new intraday high of 8,852.3 during early trading before paring gains.

The best performing sector was materials (+1.6%) as lithium miners PIlbara Minerals (+19.7%), Liontown Resources (+18.3%), Mineral Resources (+12.2%) and IGO (+8.6%) finished higher. Mineral Resources also announced it had entered a lithium processing joint venture with Livium (+10%).

BHP (+1.6%), Fortescue (+3%) and Rio Tinto (+1.5%) followed the iron ore index futures price on the Singapore exchange up. Bloomberg reported that Chinese consultancy Mysteel has flagged that several steel mills have been told to halt production by authorities later this month to tackle air pollution.

Gains for Commonwealth Bank (+1.1%), NAB (+0.9%), Westpac (+1.9%) and ANZ (+1.2%) helped lift the finance sector (+0.4%).

Biggest movers:

  • DigiCo Infrastructure REIT (+9.1%) – Announced that its SYD1 data centre in central Sydney has been certified by the Department of Home Affairs as a "certified strategic" hosting provider of data centre services.
  • DigitalX (+8.2%) – Has committed to quadrupling Bitcoin holdings to 2,100 by the end of 2027.
  • JB Hi-Fi (-8.4%) – Chief executive Terry Smart will retire on 3 October and will be replaced by chief operating officer Nick Wells. The electronics retailer also announced a 5.4% increase in net profit after tax year on year. Consumer discretionary (-1.6%) was the worst performing sector on the ASX today.
  • Iress (-7.2%) – Reported no change in net profit after tax for the first half of 2025 when compared to the previous corresponding period and a fall in adjusted EBITDA.

Deals news:

  • Aurizon (+1.3%) – Reportedly in talks to sell a 49% stake in its Queensland Rail Network. An Aurizon spokesperson said the company already flagged in February that it “has an active process underway to ensure our capital, assets and operations are optimally aligned to deliver value”.
  • Spark NZ (0%) – Confirmed it is searching for a capital partner for its data centre business after reports claimed private markets investor Pacific Equity partners was in “advanced negotiations” with the telecoms company.
  • Santos (-0.1%) – Extended the exclusive due diligence period with a consortium led by Abu Dhabi’s XRG to 22 August, allowing it to advance towards a scheme implementation agreement.
  • Tuas – Launched a $416 million institutional placement and share purchase plan to help fund a $1.7 billion acquisition of Singapore telco M1 Limited. Entered a trading halt.

Other news:

  • IMDEX (+2.8%) – Citi analysts hiked its target price on the mining technology group’s stock by 12.5%.
  • ARB Corporation (+1.5%) – UBS upgraded its rating on the car accessories supplier, saying the market has already priced in an "underwhelming result" at its upcoming full-year financial report.
  • Woolworths (+1.5%) and Coles (+1.4%) – Competition watchdog ACCC is proposing to authorise a voluntary, industry-led scheme to collect and recycle soft plastic packaging from consumers.
  • CAR Group (+0.5%) – The vehicle marketplace operator Car Group has posted a 10% rise in full-year net profit after tax.
  • DroneShield (0%) – Launched SentryCiv Counter-Drone solution, a system for detecting and tracking drones targeted at the civilian market. It will be sold on a subscription basis.
  • PEXA (-0.3%) – Commenced a strategic review of its digital solutions business and lowered its full year earnings guidance as a result of a non-cash impairment charge.

What’s ahead:

  • The Reserve Bank of Australia will make a decision on the cash rate and release its quarterly monetary policy statement tomorrow at 2:30pm AEST.
  • RBA governor Michele Bullock will hold a press conference tomorrow at 3:30pm AEST.

By Brandon How