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Market Wrap

ASX closes lower with the market operator leading losses

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The news: The Australian sharemarket finished lower as US President Donald Trump’s global tariff regime came into effect, and as the bourse operator itself took the biggest losses on the ASX 200.

The benchmark ASX 200 fell 0.14% to end at 8831.4 with five of the 11 sectors finishing in the red.

The healthcare sector (-1.2%) was the worst performing as CSL (-1.5%), Sigma Healthcare (-1%) and Resmed (-2.1%) all saw falls. Consumer discretionary (+0.9%) was the best performing sector as Wesfarmers (+0.7%), Aristocrat Leisure (+1.5%) and JB Hi-Fi (+1.8%) gained.

Commonwealth Bank (-0.5%) and NAB (-0.4%) fell while Westpac (+0.2%) and ANZ (+0.3%) finished higher.

Biggest movers:

  • ASX Limited (-8.6%) – The market operator said on Thursday morning that it expects to incur additional operating expenses in financial year 2026 after financial regulator ASIC launched an inquiry in June. The ASX also came under media scrutiny after it incorrectly cross-referenced a price-sensitive announcement with TPG Telecom’s ticker on Wednesday morning, forcing it to cancel trades, and ASIC announced overnight that it was close to approving Cboe Australia’s application to become a competing listing market.
  • Westgold Resources (+5.1%) – Provided production guidance of between 345,000 to 385,000 ounces for financial 2026, higher than total output in FY25.
  • AMP (+4.8%) – The wealth manager reported a 4.9% fall in half-year net profit after tax and confirmed that long-standing non-executive director Andrea Slattery would retire after a six-year term. Former KPMG and Colonial First State executive Linda Elkins will join the AMP and AMP Bank boards from 1 September.
  • Uranium miners – Paladin Energy (+3.4%), Boss Energy (+4.1%) and Deep Yellow (+1.9%) finished higher as UBS analysts flagged that global commodities investor Sprott estimates uranium demand growth has moved from 0% five years ago, to between 3% and 4% per year going forward. The analysts described Paladin as the “best of the bunch”.
  • Neuren Pharmaceuticals (+3.2%) – The biotech group Neuren Pharmaceuticals has reported a 14% uptick in quarterly US sales of its Retts syndrome treatment Daybue.

Deals news:

  • Domain (0%) – The real estate platform suspended trading at market close after the Supreme Court on Wednesday approved its $3 billion takeover by Nasdaq-listed property group CoStar.
  • Rio Tinto (-0.5%) – Approved investment of USD180 million ($277 million) and commenced work on the Norman Creek access project at the Amrun bauxite mine on Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula.
  • Silex System (-15.8%) – Received “firm commitments” for an institutional placement worth $130 million to support the commercialisation of the laser company’s uranium enrichment technology.
  • Liontown Resources – Launched a $266 million fully underwritten institutional placement. This includes a $50 million commitment from the federal government’s National Reconstruction Corporation. Shares are in a trading halt.

Other news:

  • Light & Wonder (-2%) – Reported a 16% increase in second-quarter net income to USD95 million ($146 million), but revenue edged lower year on year as the company cited "macroeconomic uncertainty" leading to more cautious purchasing behaviour.

What’s ahead:

  • The Bank of England will make an interest rate decision and release a monetary policy report tonight at 9pm.
  • The US Department of Labor will report weekly data on unemployment claims tonight at 10:30pm.
  • The Australian Bureau of Statistics will report data on the monthly business turnover indicator for June 2025 tomorrow at 11:30am.

By Brandon How