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Market Wrap

ASX ends flat as CBA sets another record high

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The news: The Australian sharemarket finished slightly higher as a banking rally was offset by losses from gold, lithium, and iron ore miners.

The benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.04% to end at 8559.2, with four of the 11 sectors finishing in green.

Biggest movers:

  • Big banks – Commonwealth Bank (+1.7%) set a new record close for the second day in a row, finishing at $191.40. This helped lift the broader financial sector (+1.2%), which was also buoyed by NAB (+0.8%), Westpac (+0.7%) and ANZ (+1.8%).
  • Iron ore miners – Materials (-1.3%) was the worst performing sector driven down by iron miners including BHP (-1%), Fortescue (-2.3%) and Rio Tinto (-0.6%), which tracked a declining iron ore futures index price on the Singapore exchange.
  • Gold miners – The spot price of gold dropped overnight as haven-demand eased after a ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to hold. Emerald Resources (-10.6%) was the worst performing company on the ASX 200 after reporting on Tuesday that production for the June quarter fell below guidance. Genesis Minerals (-4%), Perseus Mining (-3.4%) and West African Resources (-1.4%) also finished lower.
  • Lithium miners – Mineral Resources (-6%), IGO (-2.5%) and Liontown Resources (-1.5%) were among the biggest losers on the ASX 200.
  • Uranium miners – UBS analysts upgraded their near-term uranium prices by about 10% due to an improved US policy backdrop. Paladin Energy (+3.5%), Deep Yellow (+0.6%) and Boss Energy (+0.9%) posted gains.
  • Droneshield (+19.9%) – Announced it had secured European military contracts collectively worth $61.6 million and that it has a sales pipeline of $2.41 billion across 268 projects.

Deals:

  • Humm Group (+11.5%) – The fintech has received a non-binding indicative offer to be acquired by its chair Andrew Abercrombie.
  • Star Entertainment (+8%) – Shareholders of the embattled casino operator approved a $300 million buyout by US gaming giant Bally's Corporation and pub billionaire Bruce Mathieson's Investment Holdings.
  • PointsBet (+1.3%) – Shareholders voted in favour of a $402 million takeover proposal from Japanese entertainment company MIXI. Rival and major PointsBet shareholder Betr (-5.2%), which had been trying to outbid MIXI, is calling for a recount after its votes were not counted.
  • Xero – The accounting software group is completing an institutional placement to fund its $3.9 billion cash and scrip acquisition of US software company Melio. Shares in the company are in a trading halt.

Executive and board moves:

  • Paladin Energy (+3.5%) – Chief operating officer Paul Hemburrow will move into the managing director and chief executive roles from 1 September.
  • ASX Limited (0%) – Former PwC executive Anne Loveridge will join the board of the exchange operator as a non-executive director on 1 July. She is also on the board of Platinum Asset Management and HSBC Australia.

Other news:

  • Infragreen Group (+12%) – Debuted on the ASX after completing a $40 million initial public offering. The funds will primarily be used to pay off a debt facility.
  • Collins Foods (+8.2%) – Wilsons Advisory increased its price target following a strong earnings result on Tuesday.
  • Bailador Technology Investments (+5.8%) – The growth capital fund’s carry value for investments in DASH is set to increase by 49% as the fintech completes a capital raise.
  • EML Payments (+5.7%) – The payments technology provider has agreed to settle a shareholder class action for $37.4 million.
  • Regional Express Holdings (Rex) – Secured access to another $30 million in Commonwealth government financing as the federal court extends the regional airline operator's voluntary administration period. Trading in Rex shares have been suspended since it entered administration in July 2024.
  • Pinnacle Investment Management (-3.7%) – Managing director Ian Macoun sold $76.68 million worth of shares in the business which he intends to invest in Metrics Credit Partner funds.

What’s ahead:

  • Overnight US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell will appear before the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs to testify on the Semiannual Monetary Policy Report at midnight.
  • Thursday will see the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release job vacancy and detailed labour force data for May at 11:30am AEST.

By Brandon How