The Australian sharemarket had a soft tone on Monday, defying a positive close on Wall Street as a big sell-off in miners offset gains in technology, with investors awaiting the outcome of talks between Australia and the US.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index nudged 0.1 per cent lower, or 5.7 points, to 8989.6 near noon, well down from a record high above 9100 set last week. On Friday, US markets rebounded higher after President Donald Trump said his proposed 100 per cent tariff on goods from China would not be sustainable. Trump is due to meet with his Chinese counterpart this week.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will seek on Monday US President Donald Trump’s support to guarantee prices for Australian critical minerals producers to ensure the viability of new projects.
On the ASX, eight of the 11 sectors were in the green, led by technology and industrials. Materials slumped nearly 2 per cent, as investors sold anything related to commodities. Newmont, Evolution Mining, and Northern Star skidded more than 5 per cent each following a big pullback in gold prices on Friday after hitting a record high of $US4378.69 per ounce last week. While the gold price was holding steady at $US4244 in morning trade on Monday, investors say it is only a matter of time before it resumes its climb.
“The market reaction to the prospect of an additional 100 per cent tariff on Chinese imports says a lot about how desensitised markets have become in 2025. So far, equity and bond markets have taken it largely in stride,” said Jenna Hayes, head of sales, at Income Asset Management. “Still, we’re starting to see small cracks appear – and you don’t need to look much further than the line out the door at ABC Bullion in Martin Place to see that some investors are quietly positioning for more turbulence ahead.”
Critical minerals also receded with Iluka off 5.7 per cent, Mineral Resources down 0.6 per cent and IGO off 1.3 per cent. Falling iron ore prices weighed on the big mining groups, sending BHP 1.6 per cent lower and Rio Tinto 0.8 per cent down.
There was far more joy in tech and financials, with all the big four banks in the green, led by Commonwealth Bank, up 1 per cent.
Stocks on the move
In corporate news, uranium miner Deep Yellow was the biggest lower, down 16 per cent after the immediate exit of chief executive John Borshoff.
Auto parts group Bapcor tumbled 15 per cent following a profit downgrade and the disclosure of a $12 million pre-tax earnings hit due to “unsatisfactory operational practices” in its trade division.
Sigma Healthcare fell 1.2 per cent after a NSW court ruling that found in favour of the state regulator in a pharmacy ownership dispute with Blooms the Chemist would not have implications for its Chemist Warehouse chain.
Oil and gas producer Beach Energy jumped 4.8 per cent after reporting an 8 per cent rise in oil production.
DroneShield rallied 2.3 per cent after a more than 1000 per cent jump in revenue in the September quarter from a year ago.
Buy-now-pay-later company Zip rose 2.7 per cent after upgrading its US total transaction volume growth forecast for 2025-26.
Plumbing materials group Reece gained 1.7 per cent after completing a $365 million off-market share buyback at $13 a share.
Tabcorp lost 0.3 per cent after investors overwhelmingly voted in favour of incentives for chief executive Gillon McLachlan, despite concerns raised by the Australian Shareholders’ Association.