FY26 Reporting Calendar in PDF Format: Here and in Excel Format: Here
The ASX 200 closed at another record high, briefly trading as high as 9,296 before settling up +44 pts. Materials did the heavy lifting as copper reached fresh records in New York and London, while gold extended its strongest rally in six months. Hopes that a temporary shipping arrangement could restore some traffic through the Strait of Hormuz also continued to support sentiment ahead of the main phase of reporting season next week.
The market again showed an ability to look through mixed offshore leads. Wall Street was uneven overnight and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials created some caution, but local investors continued buying companies with clear earnings momentum. That said, reporting season will now need to justify record index levels, with elevated expectations likely to produce another period of sharp stock-specific moves.
- ASX 200: +43.77pts / +0.47% to 9,271.60
- AUD/USD: 0.7043 / -0.20%
- Best sectors: Materials +1.11%, Healthcare +0.81%, Financials +0.45%
- Worst sectors: REITs -0.90%, Utilities -0.39%, Industrials -0.03%
- Gold stocks dominated the winners as bullion extended Wednesday’s 4.1% surge. Pantoro Gold (PNR) +9.95% to $2.43, Westgold Resources (WGX) +5.43% to $5.44, Regis Resources (RRL) +5.22% to $7.05, Ora Banda Mining (OBM) +4.78% to $1.32, Vault Minerals (VAU) +4.53% to $5.54, West African Resources (WAF) +4.40% to $3.32 and Genesis Minerals (GMD) +4.35% to $6.72 all rallied.
- Newmont Corporation (NEM) +3.70% to $148.83 also advanced as gold traded around US$4,280/oz. Progress toward reopening part of the Strait of Hormuz has reduced energy-driven inflation concerns and seen markets scale back expectations for further US rate increases.
- AMP Ltd (AMP) +5.96% to $2.31 rallied after reporting a 57% increase in first-half profit and announcing a $150m share buyback. The result provided further evidence that the group’s restructuring and cost reduction initiatives are gaining traction.
- REA Group (REA) +3.43% to 172.03 was strong on a better than feared FY26 result – more on that below.
- Mesoblast (MSB) +4.69% to $2.23 and DroneShield (DRO) +4.11% to $2.28 were also among the session’s strongest performers.
- Event Hospitality & Entertainment (EVT) +4.04% gained, while consumer names Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (DMP) +3.42%, JB Hi-Fi (JBH) +2.88% and Nick Scali (NCK) +2.87% continued to attract buyers.
- Cochlear (COH) +3.27% helped healthcare outperform, while CSL Ltd (CSL) +1.30% to $132.36 extended its recent recovery.
- The heavyweight miners were generally supportive. BHP Group (BHP) +0.45% to $62.82 advanced as copper set fresh records, while Fortescue (FMG) +1.43% to $18.45 also gained. Rio Tinto (RIO) -0.02% to $176.30 finished essentially unchanged after Glencore confirmed plans to pursue a secondary ASX listing following the breakdown of earlier merger discussions.
- The major banks were modestly firmer. Commonwealth Bank (CBA) +0.92% to $179.87, National Australia Bank (NAB) +0.40% to $42.70 and ANZ Group (ANZ) +0.26% to $38.11 gained, while Westpac (WBC) finished flat at $38.53.
- Macquarie Group (MQG) +0.06% to $267.25 was little changed following its recent strong run.
- Property stocks lagged as REITs finished at the bottom of the sector table. Goodman Group (GMG) -1.72% to $30.24 and APA Group (APA) -1.77% to $10.00 were among the weaker large-cap names.
- Technology was mixed after weakness across US growth stocks. Xero (XRO) +0.41% to $75.45 edged higher, but WiseTech Global (WTC) -1.53% and Life360 (360) -2.13% declined.
- IDP Education (IEL) -5.42% to $2.27 was the weakest stock in the ASX 200, while Silex Systems (SLX) -5.30% to $4.82 also fell sharply.
- Uranium names were weaker despite broader strength across materials, with Deep Yellow (DYL) -2.48% to $1.38 and Paladin Energy (PDN) -1.60% declining.
- Generation Development Group (GDG) -1.90% to $4.13, Block (XYZ) -1.99% to $118.42 and Aussie Broadband (ABB) -2.37% to $4.94 were among the other laggards.
- Energy stocks remained subdued despite Brent recovering modestly toward US$77/bbl. Woodside Energy (WDS) -0.19% to $31.72 and Santos (STO) +0.53% to $7.59 were mixed, while Beach Energy (BPT) -0.56% eased after reporting a 21% decline in underlying FY26 profit.
- Brent crude: around US$77/bbl, stabilising after heavy losses earlier in the week as Iran and Oman progressed a temporary shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Gold: around US$4,280/oz, extending its strongest two-day advance in six months as expectations for further US rate increases moderated.
- South Korea’s Kospi: -4.6%, with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix falling sharply as volatility returned to the leveraged AI trade.
- S&P 500 E-mini futures: +12.50 points / +0.16%
- Dow E-mini futures: +121 points / +0.22%
