ASX falls as iron ore miners drag
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The news: The Australian sharemarket has started the week lower as materials dragged.
The numbers: The ASX 200 fell 0.76% to 7,763.2, with nine out of 11 sectors finishing in red.
The worst performing sector was materials, down 1.8%, followed by energy (-1.45%). BHP (-2.03%), Fortescue (-2.63%) and Rio Tinto (-2.53%) all fell as iron ore prices continued to slump.
GQG Partners fell 2.71% despite announcing that it had recorded an $8.15 billion uplift in its funds under management during June. The fund manager noted that it continued to experience “moderate redemption pressure from asset allocation and rebalancing challenges”.
Meanwhile, REA Group ended 0.73% lower despite Macquarie analysts upgrading the stock to ‘outperform’ due to its solid fundamental outlook.
The best performing sector was consumer discretionary, up 0.33%, followed by IT (0.29%).
Red 5, up 6.67%, was the best performer across the ASX 200 after the gold producer announced the repayment of its King of the Hills project finance facility and its preliminary June quarter results.
Ramelius Resources shares rose 2.62% after the gold miner posted record full-year output for FY24, despite production slowing during the June quarter.
Also in gold news, Regis Resources gained 1.97% after the miner posted record cash and bullion holdings for the June quarter.
David Di Pilla’s HMC Capital finished 0.35% higher after announcing it would invest $50 million in Victoria-based battery energy storage developer StorEnergy, as part of its push into the energy transition segment.
Meanwhile, ASX-minnow Rex Minerals rocketed 59.09% after the copper-gold developer announced it has received a takeover offer from major shareholder MACH Metals Australia, a subsidiary of Indonesia's Salim Group.
Elsewhere, Core Lithium gained 9.89% after reporting record quarterly shipments in the June quarter, helping it overshoot annual guidance.
The context: Tuesday will see the release of the latest NAB Business Survey figures along with the latest ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence survey and Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment survey.
