Australian shares gain as miners rise, banks fall
At midday on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 15.5 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 8,683.7, while the broader All Ordinaries had gained 20 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 8,946.2.
Traders were digesting minutes from the Reserve Bank's July 7-8 meeting, in which the central bank surprised observers by leaving interest rates on hold rather than trimming them.
The minutes said most board members felt cutting rates for a third time in the space of four meetings "would be unlikely to be consistent with the strategy of easing monetary policy in a cautious and gradual manner to achieve the Board's inflation and full employment objectives".
Market participants were also pondering the reason for Monday's 1.0 per cent pullback, which followed a 1.37 per cent rally on Friday that had left the index at its highest level ever.
Monday's heavy selloff following Friday's all-time high mirrored a pattern that had occurred around half a dozen times last year, IG analyst Tony Sycamore said.
"While I find this pattern intriguing, I am still struggling to explain the rationale behind it," he wrote.
In the absence of a better theory, it is possible Monday's pullback was profit-taking ahead of the August earnings season that is likely to highlight stretched valuations in certain sectors, particularly the banks, Mr Sycamore said.
The ASX's financial sector was the worst performing at midday, down 1.2 per cent, while the materials/mining sector was the best performing, up 1.9 per cent.
All four of the big retail banks were in the red with CBA down 2.0 per cent, NAB falling 1.6 per cent and Westpac and ANZ both dipping 1.1 per cent, while all of the major miners were in the green.
BHP had grown 2.4 per cent, Fortescue had advanced 2.5 per cent and Rio Tinto had added 2.7 per cent.
Goldminers were also doing well as the yellow metal traded for a one-month high of just over $US3,400 an ounce.
Newmont had advanced 2.7 per cent, Evolution had risen 2.2 per cent and Emerald Resources had added 4.9 per cent.
Back in the financial sector, Insignia had soared 11.5 per cent to $4.38 after the company formerly known as IOOF agreed to be acquired by a US-based private equity firm for $3.2 billion.
CC Capital will pay $4.80 a share, a 56.9 per cent premium from Insignia's share price in December when news of its interest first became public, but less than the $5 per share price that CC lobbed in March.
The Australian dollar meanwhile was buying 65.22 US cents, from 65.17 US cents around 5pm on Monday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
a minute ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Small caps are back baby
It's been a while since Dollar Bill put pen to paper. At first, it was deliberate. Then it became inertia. I also forgot the password to my trading account and took it as divine intervention. But markets have a way of dragging you back in - and lately, they've been anything but subtle. Something's stirring in small-cap land - and it's not just the usual background hum. Just two weeks ago, the United States Department of Defence quietly became the largest shareholder in MP Materials, which owns the Mountain Pass mine in California, the only rare earths operation of scale on US soil. A sometimes canny and mostly sober colleague of mine, Bill McConnell, wrote about it immediately in Bulls N Bears. He was onto it the very day it broke. Others chimed in later, perhaps a tad slow to the party, but that's not their fault. Most people get there eventually. Then Apple Inc jumped in, slapping another half a billion dollars on the table for equity, taking the total cheque for MP to a cool US$1 billion - all in under a week. MP's share price doubled, adding US$5 billion to its market cap pretty much overnight. That alone sparked the headlines, but for Dollar Bill, the real leg twitch came shortly after through a combination of events. The ASX 200 and the All Ords smashed record highs last week, the latter sailing through 9000 points for the first time. These weren't polite moves. These were rafter-shaking, hold-my-beer kind of surges. Also, copper prices punched out a new record peak this month at the same time that silver nudged just under US$40 for the first time in more than a decade. Gold remains stubbornly above the $5000 mark. 'Altogether, it's starting to feel like a genuine inflection point, or the world's most expensive coincidence. Mark Twain said history doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes. Right now? It's humming a very familiar tune.' Dollar Bill's even overheard a few stuffed suits at the club whispering about a revival in lithium - and for once, they might be onto something. Lithium doyen's Mineral Resources and Pilbara Minerals have both surged more than 50 per cent in the past month. And when the big boys start moving, the minnows tend to follow. Just take a look at lithium junior Galan, which has hiked from about 9c to 14c lately. Then there are the IPOs, those long-forgotten unicorns, which appear to be sniffing the morning air again. Apart from the odd ETF, 2025 has been a desert for new ASX listings - the driest year in more than a decade. But lately? There's been the sound of hooves… and they're moving.
The Age
a minute ago
- The Age
Small caps are back baby
It's been a while since Dollar Bill put pen to paper. At first, it was deliberate. Then it became inertia. I also forgot the password to my trading account and took it as divine intervention. But markets have a way of dragging you back in - and lately, they've been anything but subtle. Something's stirring in small-cap land - and it's not just the usual background hum. Just two weeks ago, the United States Department of Defence quietly became the largest shareholder in MP Materials, which owns the Mountain Pass mine in California, the only rare earths operation of scale on US soil. A sometimes canny and mostly sober colleague of mine, Bill McConnell, wrote about it immediately in Bulls N Bears. He was onto it the very day it broke. Others chimed in later, perhaps a tad slow to the party, but that's not their fault. Most people get there eventually. Then Apple Inc jumped in, slapping another half a billion dollars on the table for equity, taking the total cheque for MP to a cool US$1 billion - all in under a week. MP's share price doubled, adding US$5 billion to its market cap pretty much overnight. That alone sparked the headlines, but for Dollar Bill, the real leg twitch came shortly after through a combination of events. The ASX 200 and the All Ords smashed record highs last week, the latter sailing through 9000 points for the first time. These weren't polite moves. These were rafter-shaking, hold-my-beer kind of surges. Also, copper prices punched out a new record peak this month at the same time that silver nudged just under US$40 for the first time in more than a decade. Gold remains stubbornly above the $5000 mark. 'Altogether, it's starting to feel like a genuine inflection point, or the world's most expensive coincidence. Mark Twain said history doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes. Right now? It's humming a very familiar tune.' Dollar Bill's even overheard a few stuffed suits at the club whispering about a revival in lithium - and for once, they might be onto something. Lithium doyen's Mineral Resources and Pilbara Minerals have both surged more than 50 per cent in the past month. And when the big boys start moving, the minnows tend to follow. Just take a look at lithium junior Galan, which has hiked from about 9c to 14c lately. Then there are the IPOs, those long-forgotten unicorns, which appear to be sniffing the morning air again. Apart from the odd ETF, 2025 has been a desert for new ASX listings - the driest year in more than a decade. But lately? There's been the sound of hooves… and they're moving.
Perth Now
31 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Australian shares fall as volatility tipped to continue
The Australian bourse has moved lower despite tech industries spurring the US market to modest overnight gains. Near noon on Friday the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 44.9 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 8,665.5, while the broader All Ordinaries had dipped by 44.5 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 8,934.5. Overseas, the US market lifted after Google's parent company Alphabet spurred the technology sector, securing a $1.5 billion deal with software firm ServiceNow. Tesla shares fell 8.2 per cent after its profit report disappointed, while US President Donald Trump denied on social media that he was seeking to destroy Elon Musk's companies. In Australia, nine of the ASX's 11 sectors were down near midday, lifted only by energy climbing 1.17 per cent and with health care almost flat at 0.04 per cent. With a few hours of trading left, the ASX200 was on track to fall 1.1 per cent for the week after breaking records multiple times the previous week. Volatility in the local market looks set to persist as traders eye upcoming inflation data, and the local earnings season, Moomoo dealing manager Paco Chow said. "Macro swings and stock-specific shocks are driving sharp moves across the region," he said on Friday. "Heading into today's session, expect Asia to take its cues from Tesla's drama, US tech euphoria, and fresh energy headlines, such as China's mega dam plans." The big four banks continued losing ground with CBA dropping 1.12 per cent, NAB shedding 1.21 per cent, Westpac down 1.29 per cent and ANZ losing 0.92 per cent. For the week the financial sector was on pace to drop 4.2 per cent, which would be its worst week since a 4.6 per cent loss in early March. Miners also disappointed with BHP losing 1.71 per cent, Fortescue dropping 3.05 per cent and Rio Tinto subtracting 1.28 per cent. Goldminers slipped with the exception of producer Newmont, which rose 3.17 per cent after reporting a quarterly adjusted net income of more than $2.4 billion. Energy was in the green after Woodside rose 2.45 per cent and Santos edged 0.5 per cent higher. KMD Brands rose 6.52 per cent after Qantas executive Carla Webb-Sear was appointed the Kathmandu and Rip Curl parent company's chief financial officer. The Australian dollar was buying 65.83 US cents, from 66.16 US cents about 5pm on Thursday.
