ASX opens marginally higher as gold miners sink
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More news: Australian shares edged higher at the open as energy and tech stocks paced early gains. The benchmark ASX 200 index was up 19.6 points, or 0.23%, to 8,745.3 at 10:40am AEDT.
Eight of the 11 sectoral indices were in positive territory, with energy and technology both adding around 1.1%, while miners fell 1%.
DroneShield (+4.3%) was the top performer on the ASX 200 after securing an $8.2 million contract with an unnamed western military government department.
Gold miners made up nine of the 10 worst performers as gold prices dropped overnight. ASX 200 newcomers Pantoro Gold (-6.5%), Ora Banda Mining (-6.1%) and Resolute Mining (-5.2%) were among the worst hit.
Precious metal prices retreat after surge, Australian shares to lower
The news: Australian shares are set to fall at the open after Wall Street’s main benchmarks dropped overnight.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEDT:
- ASX futures: down 6 points to 8,749
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 0.37%, S&P 500 down 0.33% and Nasdaq down 0.45%
- Europe: CAC 40 up 0.10%, DAX up 0.05% and FTSE 100 down 0.04%
- Spot gold: down 4.22% to USD4,340 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent up 2.01% to USD61.87/bbl and US WTI up 2.27% to USD58.03/bbl
- AUD: down 0.29% at 66.96 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 0.54% to USD87,352.
The context: Volatility gripped precious metals, which slipped overnight, as easing geopolitical tension reduced safe-haven demand. Spot gold and silver both ended the day lower, just days after the former hit a record high on Friday. It followed US President Donald Trump indicating Russia and Ukraine were “getting a lot closer” to agreeing to a peace deal.
US stocks extended losses, with traders paring bets on tech megacaps before the end of the year. Despite slipping, all three major indices are on track for solid monthly gains — with the Dow and S&P 500 both set for their eighth consecutive month in the green.
