ASX opens lower as gold miners retreat
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More news: Australian shares opened lower as gold miners tracked a slide in bullion prices overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 24.4 points, or 0.27%, to 8,945.4 at 10:30am AEDT. Six of the 11 sectoral indices were in negative territory.
Miners (-1.7%) formed the worst performing segment, with gold producers making up the 12 biggest losers on the ASX 200. Genesis Minerals (-6.8%), Bellevue Gold (-6.3%) and Ramelius Resources (-6%) were the hardest hit.
Energy (-0.7%) was the second worst performing sector as oil giants Woodside (-1%) and Santos (-0.8%) followed global crude benchmarks lower.
Mineral Resources was one of the top performers, adding 1.7% after announcing a slate of board changes. Technology (+0.9%) was the top sector as Life360 (+2.3%) Technology One (+2.1%) and Xero (+1.4%) rallied.
Australian shares to start lower as US stocks dip before Q3 earnings
The news: Australian shares are set to fall in early trading after US stocks closed lower overnight, as investors looked ahead to third-quarter earnings season which kicks off next week.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEDT:
- ASX futures: down 24 points to 8,950
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.52%, S&P 500 down 0.28% and Nasdaq down 0.08%
- Europe: CAC 40 down 0.23%, DAX up 0.06% and FTSE 100 down 0.41%
- Spot gold: down 1.63% to USD3,977 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 1.68% at USD65.13/bbl and US WTI down 1.82% to USD61.41/bbl
- AUD: down 0.46% to 65.55 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 1.90% to USD121,007.
The context: The three main US indices all lowered overnight, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq retreating from record closing highs in the previous session. Traders were once again without official economic data as the US government shutdown entered its ninth day, with few signs of progress.
Meanwhile, investors appeared to consolidate ahead of earnings season, which kicks off next week with results from some of the biggest US banks.
In the local market, Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock and assistant governor Christopher Kent will appear before the Senate Economics Legislation Committee – Supplementary Budget Estimates 2025-26 – Canberra at 9am AEDT.
