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Market Wrap

ASX resets record close; DigiCo tumbles 14%

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The news: The Australian sharemarket ended on a record high after a mixed session.

The benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.23% to end at 8,959.3, with eight out of 11 sectors finishing in green. It also set a new intraday high of 8,963.

The telecommunications services (+1.4%) sector was the best performer, partly driven by gains from REA Group (+4.5%). The real estate platform announced that its next CEO would be Cameron McIntyre, the former head of CAR Group (+0.7%).

Materials (-0.8%) was the worst performing sector as BHP (-1.2%), Fortescue (-0.6%) and Rio Tinto (-1.5%) all fell.

Energy (-0.5%) also performed poorly as coal producers Yancoal (-3.1%) and Whitehaven Coal (-2%) fell. New Hope Corporation (-4.2%) also fell after the coal producer announced a drop in sales and average realised price in the July quarter.

HMC Capital’s DigiCo Infrastructure REIT (-14.1%) was the biggest loser on the ASX 200 after the data centre investor missed market estimates and declined to provide a guidance range for FY26 EBITDA growth. Shares in HMC Capital (-3.6%) also fell.

Biggest movers:

  • Lendlease Group (+6.7%) – Swung to full-year profit of $225 million, having posted a $1.5 billion in FY24.
  • A2 Milk (+3.1%) – Reported a 21.1% increase in full-year net profit and announced the acquisition of Yashili New Zealand Dairy Co.
  • Bluescope Steel (-3.1%) – Reported a 90% decline in full-year net profit and recognised a $439 million impairment on its coated products business.
  • oOh!media (-10.2%) – Reported a $11.3 million loss after income tax for the first half of 2025 amid lower than expected earnings. Increased its operational expenditure guidance range for the full year due to higher employee incentives.
  • Audinate (-20.8%) – Told the market it faced a $6.4 million loss in FY25, with earnings coming in lower than expected.

Earnings news:

  • GWA Group (+3.8%) – The bathroom and kitchen fixtures business reported a 12.3% increase in net profit after tax and announced a $30 million on-market share buyback.
  • NAB (+2.7%) – Made a $1.77 billion cash profit in the third quarter, down 1% on last year. Expenses also increased by 3% amid growing payroll and tech investment.
  • GPT Group (+1.9%) – Posted a first-half net profit after tax of $329.1 million, recovering from a $249.4 million loss in the previous comparable period.
  • Aurizon (+1.8%) – Statutory profit fell 25% in FY25 compared to the previous year and recognised a $57 million impairment on its bulk business.
  • Ampol (+0.9%) – Reported a first-half net loss of $25.3 million, down from a net profit of $235.3 million in the prior corresponding period.
  • Charter Hall Retail REIT (-0.5%) – Full-year statutory profit came in at $213.8 million, up from $17.2 million in FY24, following its takeover of Hotel Property Investments with wholesale partner Hostplus.

Other news:

  • EVT (+1.4%) – Acquired third-party hotel management company Pro-invest Hotels for $74 million.
  • Iress (+1.2%) – Announced that its CEO Marcus Price in discussions with the board regarding a potential departure from the role. The company also said it has been in the early stages of engaging with "third parties" along with Blackstone and Thoma Bravo over a potential acquisition.
  • Qantas (-0.4%) – The Federal Court has fined Qantas $90 million over its decision to illegally outsource 1,800 ground handling jobs during the Covid pandemic.

What’s ahead:

  • The Albanese government’s three-day economic reform roundtable will kick off on Tuesday.
  • Westpac will release its consumer sentiment survey for August on Tuesday at 10:30am AEST.

By Brandon How