ASX closes lower after mixed trading day amid geopolitical uncertainty

Biggest movers:

• Iron miners – The futures index for the commodity on the SIngapore exchange fell amid lower Chinese demand and as Citi analysts trimmed their price forecasts. Mineral Resources (-4.6%), Fortescue (-4%), BHP (-1.2%), and Rio Tinto (-1.1%) all took losses. Materials (-1.6%) was the worst performing sector.
• Gold miners – Even though the spot price of bullion remained high, gold miners were among the biggest losers on the ASX 200. This included Spartan Resources (-4.6), West African Resources (-4.3%), Ramelius Resources (-4%) and Evolution Mining (-3.6%).
• Uranium miners – Boss Energy (+4.3%) announced that its Honeymoon project met FY25 output guidance while Morgans analysts lifted their target pricefor Deep Yellow (+3.9%). Meanwhile, Paladin Energy (-0.5%) slipped.
• Energy sector (+0.7%) – Viva Energy (+5.3%) was the biggest gainer on the ASX 200 amid high oil prices, with gains also posted by Santos (+0.4%), Yancoal Australia (+2.4%) and Ampol (+2.7%). Meanwhile, Woodside (-0.2%) shares also slipped.
• Utilities sector (-1%) – Origin Energy (-2.2%) and AGL Energy (-0.7%) fell although APA Group (+1.1%) and Mercury NZ (+0.2%) finished higher.
• Lovisa Holdings (-5.3%) – The biggest loser on the ASX 200 despite no company-specific news.

Deals news:

• Mayne Pharma (+2.3%) – Shareholders overwhelmingly voted in favour of Cosette Pharmaceuticals’ proposed $672 million acquisition, even as the suitor is set to defend two termination notices in a September court battle.
• Platinum Asset Management (+1%) and L1 Capital (-1%) – Both companies have completed the due diligence phase of their proposed merger, announced last month.

Analyst research:

• Cochlear (+0.8%) – UBS analysts upgraded their rating on the hearing implant company’s stock to ‘buy’, expecting new product releases to support higher-than-expected medium term earnings growth.
• Neuren Pharmaceuticals (+0.5%) – Macquarie analysts began coverage of the stock with an ‘outperform’ rating. They set Neuren's target price at $18.60.
• Nuix (-0.4%) – RBC Capital Markets began coverage of the software group with a ‘sector perform’ recommendation.

Other news:

• Kelsian (+2.5%) – An American subsidiary of the travel company signed a contract with Worley Field Services, worth about USD59 million ($91 million), to provide workforce transportation services in Louisiana.
• Lynas Rare Earths (+0.1%) – Announced first production of terbium oxide at its Malaysia facility.
• Karoon Energy (0%) – The oil producer successfully bid for six exploration blocks in the offshore Santos basin in Brazil.
• NextDC (0%) – The data centre operator is issuing an additional $2.2 billion in senior debt facilities, which will take the total value of its senior debt facilities to $5.1 billion.
• Lendlease (-0.5%) – The real estate giant has appointed experienced non-executive Lianne Buck to its board.

What’s ahead:

• The US Department of Labor will release weekly unemployment data at 10:30pm. Last week, recurring jobless claims were at their highest level since 2021.
• Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem is due to speak about Canada’s economic outlook, inflation trends and interest rates before the St. John’s Board of Trade tomorrow at 1:15am.
• The US Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee will publish its interest rate decision at 4:00am.
• Statistics New Zealand will release gross domestic product data for the March 2025 quarter tomorrow at 8:30am.
• The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release labour force data for May tomorrow at 11:30am.