ASX ends 1.3% higher; Neuren Pharma and DroneShield rocket
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The news: The Australian sharemarket closed 1.3% higher, tracking gains across Asian markets and US futures after the Trump administration announced a temporary reprieve for some electronic imports from China.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 102.1 points to end at 7,748.6, with 10 of its 11 sectoral indices in the green.
Technology, up 2.6%, was the best performing sector, seemingly buoyed by the latest tariff announcement by the White House, even as US President Donald Trump played down the policy shift.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar continued to rise against the US dollar and was last buying 63 US cents.
Big movers:
- Neuren Pharmaceuticals (21.1%) — Said it is on track for a clinical trial of a new drug following a productive meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration.
- DroneShield (16.3%) — Secured a package of five repeat contracts from a "close military ally of Australia" in the Asia Pacific region, totalling $32.2 million.
Analyst rating changes:
- Macquarie Group (-0.2%) — Downgraded to 'equal-weight' by Morgan Stanley, which expects the group's revenue to hit five-year lows on the back of a delayed recovery in global capital markets.
- Newmont Corporation (4.5%) — Upgraded to 'buy' by UBS as it hiked its gold price forecast for the second time in a week. UBS also upgraded fellow gold miner Regis Resources (0.4%) to 'neutral'.
Other news:
- Bellevue Gold (suspended) — Revised down its full-year production guidance and withdrew its five-year growth plan after lower-than-expected output in the March quarter. The miner also said it will undertake a $156.5 million placement to de-risk its balance sheet and announced the departure of chief operating officer Bill Stirling.
- Gold Road Resources (1.3%) — Confirmed it will support Northern Star Resources' (1.2%) $5 billion acquisition of De Grey Mining (1.6%), of which it holds a 17.26% stake.
- Viva Energy (2%) — Reported a drop in Q1 fuel sales volumes, but said falling oil prices and a lower Australian dollar exchange rate due to the US tariff turmoil will be supportive for earnings.
- Adairs (2.3%) — Named interim chair Trent Peterson as its new permanent chair and appointed former The Just Group, T2 Tea and Afterpay executive Rachel Kelly to its board.
What's ahead:
- The Reserve Bank will publish minutes from its April meeting, where it decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 4.1% (Tuesday, 12:30pm AEST).
