ASX ends flat as tech stocks plunge, ARB Corporation sheds 13%

The news: The Australian sharemarket finished roughly flat as gains by energy (+1.7%) and mining (+1%) stocks were offset by further selldowns in technology (-3.5%).

The benchmark ASX 200 index ended 0.04% lower at 9.022.3 with six of the 11 sectoral indices in positive territory.

Biggest movers:

• ARB Corporation (-13.1%) — Posted a 17% drop in first-half profit, driven by lower sales margin amid a weaker Australian dollar and lower factory overhead recoveries.
• Viva Energy (+8.1%) — Reported full-year profit of $184 million, topping market estimates.

Other earnings news:

• Woodside Energy (+2.4%) — Saw a 24% decline in full-year profit to USD2.72 billion ($3.85 billion), as lower realised prices offset record annual production.
• Nine Entertainment (+0.5%) — Posted a 42% rise in first-half statutory profit to $81 million, edging out market forecasts.
• Monadelphous (+5.9%) — Delivered a 53% jump in profit following a record first-half revenue result.
• Tyro Payments (+2.7%) — Reported first-half statutory profit before tax of $17.7 million, a 73% increase from a year ago, citing improvement in payment volumes and operational discipline.
• Scentre Group (-1.1%) — Recorded a 69% jump in full-year statutory profit to $1.78 billion as customer visits to its shopping centres climbed 2.7% to 540 million in 2025.
• Regal Partners (+4.8%) — Reported a normalised net profit after tax jump for the full-year to December 2025 and lifted its dividend despite writing down its Opthea investment.