ASX ends lower as miners and banks sink; ARB sheds 11%
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The news: The Australian sharemarket finished lower as miners and banks slumped. The benchmark ASX 200 fell 58.6 points, or 0.66%, to end at 8,815.9, with seven of the 11 sectors finishing in the red.
Financials and materials were the worst performing sectors, each losing around 1.1%. Commonwealth Bank (-1.8%) led losses across each of the big four banks, while BHP (-2%) dragged down the materials sector after hiking cost forecasts for its Jansen potash project.
Utilities (+1.6%) was the best performing sector, boosted by Origin Energy (+2.6%), which announced it will extend the close date of all four units of the coal-fired Eraring power station from 2027 to 2029.
Biggest movers:
- ARB Corporation (-12%) – Expects to report a 16.3% slide in first-half underlying profit before tax compared to the same period last year.
- Bellevue Gold (+5%) – Recorded an increased in gold production for the December quarter and said costs are expected to reduce further through the second half.
Executive moves:
- AMP (-0.8%) – Announced the retirement of CEO Alexis George, with CFO Blair Vernon in line for the top job from 30 March.
- Boss Energy (-0.8%) – Confirmed that non-executive chair Wyatt Buck will step down from his role, having joined the board in 2020.
Other news:
- Fletcher Building (+1.8%) – Agreed to sell its construction arm to Paris-listed Vinci Construction for $273 million.
- Telix Pharmaceuticals (+1.9%) – Received regulatory clearance to proceed with filing a drug application for its lead prostate cancer imaging agent Illuccix in China.
- Hub24 (+3.1%) – Reported record quarterly and half-year inflows, as platform funds under administration climbed 5%.
- Northern Star (+1.1%) – Raised its FY26 cost guidance following lower gold sales during the December quarter.
