ASX 200 ends the week up 0.9% to 8,844 as a Neuren EU catalyst and a gold rally lift health care and miners
ASX 200 week close: 8,844.4 (+0.92%) S&P 500 (Thu 2 Jul close): 7,483.2 (+1.76% for the week) Sentiment: bullish
The week on the ASX
The S&P/ASX 200 closed the week ending 3 July 2026 at 8,844.4, up 0.92%, led by health care and gold miners after a soft US June payrolls print eased fears of further Federal Reserve rate hikes and softened the US dollar. Health Care led all sectors at +5.64% for the week, driven by Neuren Pharmaceuticals NEU.AU, which climbed 37.21% after the European Medicines Agency's CHMP adopted a positive opinion recommending marketing authorisation for its Rett syndrome drug DAYBUE (trofinetide). The ASX gold sub-index rose 5.25% as spot bullion gained 2.66% to US$4,187/oz, snapping a five-week losing streak on the softer jobs data and a weaker greenback.
Financials added 1.74%, but the week's sharpest financial-sector move was Perpetual PPT.AU, up 24.95% after it rejected a A$2.5 billion takeover proposal from a vehicle controlled by Sweden's EQT. Utilities lagged the whole market at -5.78%, dragged by APA Group APA.AU (-7.80%), and A-REITs fell 3.62%, the two rate-proxy pockets that failed to join the bounce as money rotated into health care and miners. The single worst large-cap move was Pexa Group PXA.AU, down 16.36% after a NSW regulator's draft report proposed a roughly 20% cut to its regulated revenue.
Sector scorecard (5-day)
- Best: Health Care (+5.64%)
- Second: ASX Gold sub-index (+5.25%)
- Worst: Utilities (-5.78%)
- Second worst: A-REITs (-3.62%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 11.4 pts
- Info Tech (+2.42%) and Materials (+2.08%) sat mid-table; Consumer Staples (-1.68%) and Consumer Discretionary (-1.31%) were the defensive drags.
Top movers, week ending 3 July 2026
| Ticker | Week | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| NEU.AU | +37.21% | CHMP positive opinion for DAYBUE in EU (29 Jun); US$35m milestone on approval |
| TVN.AU | +32.73% | Molyhil tungsten JV terms with Sumitomo (24 Jun); critical-minerals theme |
| PPT.AU | +24.95% | Rejected A$2.5 billion EQT-backed takeover proposal (1 Jul) |
| CU6.AU | +21.76% | SAR-bisPSMA data set for EANM nuclear-medicine congress (29 Jun) |
| GDG.AU | +20.47% | No in-week news; director buying (19-22 Jun) and risk-on rally |
| PXA.AU | -16.36% | IPART draft report proposes ~20% cut to regulated revenue (3 Jul) |
| MI6.AU | -10.59% | Ran to a 52-week high, then faded as a drilling update (25 Jun) cooled |
| SGM.AU | -10.24% | Unwound part of its June guidance-driven surge; exec reshuffle (30 Jun) |
| WGN.AU | -9.26% | Gave back a multi-month run on margin-pressure concerns; no company news |
| MAH.AU | -8.85% | Escrow release (23 Jun) freed up stock; buyers thinned after a strong run |
Friday US session
- S&P 500: 7,483.2 (Thursday 2 July close; +1.76% for the week)
- Nasdaq: 25,832.7 (+2.12% for the week)
- Dow: 52,900.1 (+1.97% for the week)
- VIX: 15.81 (-14.12% for the week)
US markets were closed on Friday 3 July for the Independence Day holiday, observed a day early because 4 July falls on a Saturday. The last US cash session was Thursday 2 July, when the June employment report landed a day ahead of schedule: payrolls grew 57,000 against a 115,000 consensus, unemployment ticked up to 4.2% on a lower participation rate of 61.5%, and April and May were revised down a combined 74,000. The soft print pushed the VIX down to 15.81 and left all three US indices higher for the week, with the Dow closing at a record 52,900. The AUD/USD ended the week at 0.6940, up 0.62%, as the weaker jobs data pressured the greenback; Brent crude added 0.19% to US$72.13 and copper rose 1.34%.
Macro themes that played out
The June US jobs report was the week's pivot. At 57,000 new payrolls against a 115,000 consensus, and with the prior two months revised down 74,000, the print pushed markets to scale back bets on further Fed tightening and sent gold to US$4,187/oz. That flowed straight into the ASX gold miners, where Genesis Minerals GMD.AU rose 16.70%, Capricorn Metals CMM.AU 14.53% and Catalyst Metals CYL.AU 13.83%. Locally, the Reserve Bank stayed on the sidelines with no meeting this week; its next rate decision is on 30 July. Even with hike fears easing, utilities and A-REITs both fell, on stock-specific selling in APA Group and broad weakness across property trusts. Corporate activity supplied the other headline, with the EQT approach to Perpetual and the IPART draft ruling on Pexa driving the week's two largest single-stock moves in opposite directions.
Week ahead, Mon to Fri (AEST)
- Mon 6 Jul - TD-MI Inflation Gauge (June) and ANZ-Indeed Job Ads (June), the first read on domestic price and hiring momentum for the month.
- Tue 7 Jul - Light domestic calendar; no major AU data scheduled.
- Wed 8 Jul - RBA official Sarah Hunter speaks, and May building approvals (final) are released; overnight, the US Federal Reserve publishes the minutes of its June FOMC meeting.
- Thu 9 Jul - US weekly initial jobless claims, watched more closely after the soft June payrolls.
- Fri 10 Jul - No scheduled AU or US top-tier data; this is a light mid-cycle week. There is no AU CPI this week (the Q2 print is due later in July) and the next RBA rate decision is on 30 July.
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