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Market Wrap

ASX hits second consecutive record high as RBA cuts rates

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The news: The Australian sharemarket set a second consecutive record high as the market cheered the Reserve Bank’s decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.6%.

The benchmark ASX 200 gained 0.41% to end at 8,880.8, with eight out of 11 sectors finishing in green. It also set a new intraday record of 8,885.7.

Interest rate sensitive sectors utilities (+0.8%) and financials (+0.8%) were the best performing as the sectors sharply rallied following the RBA's announcement. The consumer discretionary (+0.8%) sector was also a top performer with Origin Energy (+0.9%) and APA Group (+0.5%) posting gains.

Australia's four biggest lenders Commonwealth Bank (+0.1%), NAB (+1%), Westpac (+0.9%) and ANZ (+2.2%) all finished higher.

Biggest gainers:

  • Tuas (+29.6%) — Raised $385 million to help fund its proposed $1.7 billion takeover of Singaporean telecommunications company M1.
  • The Star Entertainment (+23.6%) — Entered an agreement to exit its 50% stake in the Queen's Wharf casino and entertainment complex with Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium.
  • Life360 (+7.8%) — Reported a 36% increase in quarterly revenue and announced that co-founder and CEO Chris Hulls would transition to executive chair while COO Lauren Antonoff would become its new CEO.
  • JB Hi-Fi (+5.6%) — Shares rebounded from Monday’s selloff after Macquarie and Morgans analysts raised their ratings and target prices on the electronics retailer.

Earnings news:

  • Coronado Global Resources (+9.8%) — Broke even in EBITDA terms during the June quarter as the coal miner faced substantially lower coal prices year on year.
  • CAR Group (+5%) — Posted a 10% rise in full-year net profit after tax to $275 million, as the company recorded revenue and earnings growth in each of its key markets.
  • Seven West Media (-1.3%) — Reported a 62% full-year profit slide, despite second-half earnings growth, amid ongoing weakness in the free-to-air television market.
  • SGH (-8.5%) — Posted earnings before interest and tax guidance for financial year 2026 that was 5% lower than consensus estimates.

Other news:

  • Westpac (+0.9%) — Appointed long-serving executive Carolyn McCann as chief executive of its consumer business, effective immediately.
  • SkyCity (+0.6%) — An independent review has found SkyCity Adelaide ‘suitable’ to hold a casino licence.
  • Ooh!Media (+0.3%) — Appointed Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) managing director James Taylor as its new chief executive.

What’s ahead:

  • Overnight will see the latest US inflation figures published at 10:30pm.
  • Wednesday will see the Australian quarterly wage price index figures published at 11:30am.
  • Earnings season continues with Commonwealth Bank, AGL Energy, Computershare, Treasury Wine Estates, Amotiv, Evolution Mining, IAG and Region Group all reporting.

By Jassmyn Goh