The ASX200 gained 0.4% to close at 8,845 points on Tuesday, marking its third straight day of gains. The rally followed Wall Street’s rise after Nvidia unveiled a $100bn investment in OpenAI, sparking global enthusiasm for AI infrastructure spending.
- ASX200: +0.4% to 8,845 points
- Australian Dollar: 65.83 US cents (-0.23%)
- Spot Gold: $3,755/oz (+0.24%, record high)
- Brent Crude: $66.23/barrel (-0.51%)
- Iron Ore: $105.6/tonne (-0.2%)
- Bitcoin: $113,082 (-0.2%)
Gold & Uranium Miners Surge
Gold futures hit a new record high at $3,752/oz, up 42% year-to-date, driven by safe-haven demand, weaker US dollar, and central bank buying.
Top performers:
- Resolute Mining: +5% to $0.95
- Northern Resources: +2.16% to $22.90
- Newmont Mining: +1.82% to $127.07
- Perseus Mining: +1.8% to $4.76
Uranium stocks also gained on supply cuts from Kazakhstan and renewed demand from nuclear restarts, further boosted by news that commodity giant Mercuria will expand into uranium trading.
Myer Shares Collapse
Retailer Myer posted a $211.2m annual net loss, compared with a $43.5m profit last year, due to a non-cash impairment of its apparel brands goodwill.
- Share price: Down ~25% on Tuesday, now down 56% YTD
- Sales: $3.67bn (+12.5% YoY)
- Dividend: None declared
Investors punished the stock despite stronger sales, citing disappointment with earnings quality and outlook.
Banking & Healthcare Lift ASX
Big banks supported the rally:
- CBA: +1.55% to $168.12
- NAB: +1.42% to $44.27 (record high)
- Westpac: +1.39% to $39.10
- ANZ: +1.20% to $33.41
Healthcare rebounded after five weeks of weakness, led by:
- Telix Pharmaceuticals: +9.2% to $16.38 after US regulators granted reimbursement approval for its prostate cancer imaging agent Gozellix.
Consumer Confidence Declines
The ANZ-Roy Morgan survey showed consumer confidence fell for the second consecutive week, down 1.3 points to 84.6, its lowest since mid-April. Economists linked the drop to weak labor market data and ongoing economic uncertainty.
Regulatory & Trade Developments
- ASIC vs RACQ: The regulator sued the insurer for allegedly misleading 500,000 customers with renewal notices.
- ACCC vs JustAnswer: The US-based Q&A service faces action for misleading consumers with $2 offers that converted into hidden $90 monthly subscriptions.
- EU-Indonesia Trade Deal: A landmark agreement will remove tariffs on 98% of lines, expand EU access to Indonesian raw materials, and diversify supply chains away from China and the US.
Outlook
Markets will turn next to the Australian Bureau of Statistics CPI release (August data) on Wednesday, which comes ahead of the RBA’s monetary policy meeting next week.
With AI-driven investments boosting global markets and gold miners powering local gains, investors remain bullish—though Myer’s slump highlights the risks facing traditional retailers in a fast-changing economy.
