ASX opens lower as Iluka Resources plunges on $565m hit
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: Australian shares opened lower as ten of the 11 sectoral indices fell into negative territory. The benchmark ASX 200 index was down 42.4 points, or 0.48%, to 8,891.5 at 10:45am AEDT.
Critical minerals producer Iluka Resources (-7.7%) was the worst performer on the ASX 200, after flagging $565 million in exceptional items ahead of its FY25 results.
Fellow miners Lynas Rare Earths, Champion Iron and Ora Banda Mining were all down more than 6%. IGO (-4.3%) fell after flagging a 24% production hit at its Kwinana lithium hydroxide joint venture.
Consumer Staples (-1.1%) was the worst performing sector. Woolworths (-1.5%) was lower after appointing former Walmart and Google executive Jon Alferness to its board, while Coles (-0.9%) fell after receiving notice of a class action lawsuit in South Australia.
Energy (+0.6%) was the only sector in the green as oil majors Santos (+1.3%) and Woodside Energy (+0.9%) tracked crude prices higher, and Whitehaven Coal (+3.2%) delivered a positive trading update.
Australian shares to open flat as Fed holds rates; Microsoft, Meta to report
The news: Australian shares are set to open roughly flat as US indices wavered after the Federal Reserve's call to leave interest rates unchanged.
The numbers: Updated at 7:40am AEDT:
- ASX futures: down 4 points to 8,947
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.09%, S&P 500 up 0.01% and the Nasdaq up 0.20%.
- Europe: CAC 40 down 1.06%, DAX down 0.29% and FTSE 100 down 0.52%.
- Spot gold: up 3.85% to USD5,381 per ounce.
- Oil prices: Brent up 1.54% to USD68.61/bbl and US WTI up 1.72% to USD63.46/bbl.
- AUD: up 0.25% at 70.30 US cents.
- Bitcoin: down 0.10% to USD89,019.
The context: The Fed left its benchmark rate unchanged at 3.5-3.75%, after three consecutive cuts, citing “solid” economic activity and “somewhat elevated” inflation. Governors Christopher Waller and Stephen Miran dissented in favour of a quarter-point cut.
The decision comes as US President Donald Trump intensifies pressure on the central bank, including a criminal investigation into Fed chair Jerome Powell. Trump has said he is close to announcing his pick to replace Powell, whose term ends in May, and expects the new chair will deliver swift rate cuts.
Elsewhere, gold topped USD5,300 an ounce for the first time, and investors awaited earnings results from Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Tesla, which are set to report after the close (8am AEDT).
