Skip to content

Briefing

Market Wrap

ASX closes lower; BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue tank

Make us a preferred source
Link copied

The news: The Australian sharemarket closed lower as a sharp decline across the mining sector, amid falling commodity prices, offset broad gains in almost every other sector.

The benchmark ASX 200 fell 0.16% to end at 8742.8 despite eight of the 11 sectors finishing in the green.

The materials sector (-2.6%) weighed heavily on the ASX 200 index as BHP (-2.4%), Fortescue (-2.3%) and Rio Tinto (-3.6%) followed iron ore index futures prices down amid another slowdown in Chinese manufacturing activity.

A sharp decline in the spot price of gold overnight also preceded a share price decline for ASX-listed gold miners like Bellevue Gold (-4.7%) and Genesis Minerals (-3.4%).

The tech sector (+1.3%) was the best performer as Wisetech Global (+1%), Xero (+0.6%) and Technology One (+1.9%) finished higher. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq finished higher after Microsoft and Meta Platforms surged.

Biggest movers:

  • DroneShield (+18.3%) – Bell Potter analysts upgraded their position on the stock from ‘hold’ to ‘buy’. On Wednesday the anti-drone technology company posted record revenue of $38.8 million for the June quarter 2025.
  • Lithium miners – Mineral Resources (-7.1%) finished lower despite backing from analysts. Pilbara Minerals (-7%), Liontown Resources (-4.9%) and IGO (-4.5%) also finished lower.
  • Champion Iron (-13.1%) – The biggest loser on the ASX 200 as Macquarie and Citi analysts cut their price target on the stock on a weaker-than-expected June quarter. The iron ore index futures price on the Singapore exchange fell nearly 1%.
  • Beach Energy (-9.3%) – Reported a 9% uptick in full-year production, meeting guidance, despite a decline in output during the fourth quarter.
  • Flight Centre (-7.3%) – Warned the exchange that it is expecting to miss its underlying profit guidance for financial year 2025 amid continued volatility in the sector.
  • Sims (-5.3%) – Signed a memorandum of understanding to supply iron scrap to Alter Steel’s proposed electric arc furnace planned for operation in Pinkeba, Queensland in 2028.
  • Cettire (-23.5%) – Fashion retail platform operator said it is "currently assessing the full implications" of new changes to US tariffs on overseas imports following an executive order issued by President Donald Trump overnight.

Deals news:

  • Humm Group (-0.9%) – Requested that its chair’s family office, The Abercrombie Group, completes its due diligence and “submits a refined proposal by mid-September”. An indicative proposal issued last month implies an equity value of around $285.6 million.
  • TPG Telecom (-2%) – Completed a $5.25 billion sale of its fibre network infrastructure assets and enterprise, government and wholesale fixed business to Vocus Group.
  • PointsBet (-2%) – The online bookmaker’s board rejected a revised all-scrip takeover offer from rival Betr (-3.1%).

Other news:

  • AGL (+0.1%) – Reached final investment decision on its 500MW Tomago Battery Project in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Construction is targeted for late 2025 with plans to commence operations in late 2027.
  • Santos (+0.1%) – The Pikka oil project in Alaska still has the opportunity to start earlier than the guided mid-2026 date following completion of a key milestone for phase one of the project.
  • ASX Limited (-0.6%) – ASX chief compliance officer Daniel Moran has announced his resignation after three years in the role and 15 years with the market operator.

What’s ahead:

  • Statistics Canada will release gross domestic product data by industry for May at 10:30pm tonight.
  • The US Bureau of Economic Analysis will release consumer expenditure data for June at 10:30pm tonight.
  • The US Bureau of Labor Statistics will release data on the employment cost index at 10:30pm tonight.
  • The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release producer price index data for the June quarter tomorrow at 11:30am.

By Brandon How