ASX ends higher after RBA rate hike; miners and real estate lead gains

The news: The Australian sharemarket ended higher after the Reserve Bank announced its second consecutive hike to interest rates, with mining (+1%), real estate (+1%) and financial (+0.6%) stocks leading gains.

The benchmark ASX 200 index rose 0.36% to 8,614.3, with six of the 11 sectoral indices in the green.

Biggest movers:

• Pantoro Gold (+12%) — Initiated at a ‘buy’ rating by UBS, alongside Westgold Resources (+4.9%), Ora Banda Mining (+9.1%) and Catalyst Metals (+7.6%).
• Temple & Webster (-7.6%) — Led a selloff in technology (-1.3%) and consumer (-1.1%) stocks after the RBA increased interest rates to 4.1%.

Other news:

• Challenger (+3.5%) — Reduced the value of its proposed takeover of non-bank lender Pepper Money (-14.9%) due to the “deterioration in both market conditions and operating environment”.
• PEXA (+1.5%) — Entered a binding sale agreement with “an unlisted entity” to divest Informed Decisions.
• Mercury (-2.4%) — Opened a new unit at its Nga Tamariki Geothermal Station in New Zealand’s north island, Taupō, aimed at boosting the country’s energy supply.
• Electro Optic Systems (-17%) — Chief executive Andreas Schwer will sell up to 2.5 million shares, with other members of the management team expected to dispose of “some or all” of their shareholdings “in the near term”.
• Vulcan Energy (+2.3%) — Granted its first permit for the flagship Lionheart Project in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
• New Hope (-6.4%) — Reported an 84% drop in half-year net profit to $54.3 million, citing unfavourable weather conditions and lower coal prices.
• West African Resources (+5.8%) — Delivered a net profit increase of 130% to $567 for the year ended December 2025, driven by strong gold production at its newly constructed Kiaka production centre.