ASX 200 closes at the session high as a 2pm buy order outweighs a 5.68% crude drop
ASX 200 close: 9,019.3 (+0.47%) Breadth: 180 advancers / 89 decliners (S&P/ASX 300) Sentiment: bullish
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 9,019.3 on Monday 3 August 2026, up 42.5 points or 0.47%, after a large programmed buy order struck big-cap index names between 2:00pm and 2:30pm AEST, lifting the benchmark to close at the top of its session range. Benz Mining BNZ.AU rose 12.75% to $3.89, the strongest move in the ASX 300, after presenting at the Diggers and Dealers conference in Kalgoorlie. SPI futures had pointed to an 85 point lower open near 8,892 after WTI crude fell 5.68% to US$79.86 on the OPEC+ September supply increase.
What moved the index
- Financials (+0.41%): roughly 35% of the index and about 14 bps of the 47 bps move. WBC.AU +0.79%, MQG.AU +0.83%, NAB.AU +0.65% and CBA.AU +0.21% all lifted inside the afternoon buying window, and QBE.AU added 0.85%.
- Industrials (+1.36%) and Consumer Discretionary (+1.10%): about 18 bps between them. WES.AU +1.45% to $90.66 carried the most index weight, while QAN.AU +3.72%, DMP.AU +6.25% and LOV.AU +3.73% all rose without company news.
- Health Care (+1.02%): about 9 bps. CSL.AU +1.01% to $124.30 and RMD.AU +1.58% to $30.26, the latter higher despite the FDA classifying ResMed's Astral ventilator correction as a Class I recall on 31 July.
- Energy (-1.19%): about -4 bps, and the only sector drag large enough to quantify. WDS.AU -1.37%, STO.AU -1.91%, VEA.AU -2.11% and YAL.AU -1.80% tracked the 5.68% fall in WTI.
Together those account for roughly 37 bps of the 47 bps index move. The residual sits in Utilities +2.10%, Consumer Staples +1.03% and Information Technology +0.80%, plus the width of the advance: the S&P/ASX 300 finished with 180 advancers against 89 decliners.
Session highlights
- 8,940.4 marked the session low, and the 9,019.3 close sat 0.88% above it at the top of the day's range.
- 180 advancers to 89 decliners across the S&P/ASX 300, with the Small Ordinaries +0.80% and the All Technology index +0.95% both beating the benchmark.
- 10.90 on the S&P/ASX 200 VIX, down 4.47% after an 11.82 intraday high, its lowest close of the past week.
- US$94.10 a tonne at the intraday low on Singapore iron ore futures, the weakest since early July 2025, which sent FMG.AU to an 11-month low of $17.80.
- +1.0% m/m on the July Melbourne Institute Inflation Gauge, against -0.4% in June.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Utilities (+2.10%)
- Worst: Energy (-1.19%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 3.29 pts
- Materials +0.30% covered a wide internal split: BHP.AU +0.68% and EVN.AU +1.69% against FMG.AU -3.84%, CIA.AU -2.93% and RIO.AU -0.63%.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| BNZ.AU | +12.75% | Diggers and Dealers presentation; Canaccord holds a $6.00 target |
| ELS.AU | +10.38% | Defence sector bid, company update |
| SKS.AU | +9.45% | FY26 profit before tax $39.3 million against $34 million guided |
| 4DX.AU | +9.09% | Follow-through from Friday's quarterly update |
| DRO.AU | +7.08% | Defence sector bid, no announcement |
| FMG.AU | -3.84% | 11-month low as Singapore iron ore futures hit a one-year low |
| ELV.AU | -3.08% | Chinese lithium carbonate futures fell 2.5% to 136,980 yuan a tonne |
| CIA.AU | -2.93% | Iron ore weakness; Bell Potter cut its target to $3.40 from $4.40 |
| ING.AU | -2.67% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven |
| REG.AU | -2.41% | Binding deal struck to buy a Victorian home care business |
Notable announcements
- FPR.AU +17.31% to $3.32 on an unsolicited SG Fleet proposal at $3.60 a share, a 27% premium to Friday's $2.83 close and about $770 million for the company.
- SKS.AU guided FY26 revenue to $347.9 million against $340 million, with a pre-tax margin of 11.3% against the 10% flagged in February. Results are due 18 August.
- REG.AU agreed to acquire the Royal Freemasons Victorian home care business and its roughly 480 clients, lifting annualised home care revenue to about $50 million.
- TCL.AU +1.01% after finalising the NSW toll reform Direct Deal, alongside June group traffic up 3.8% on the prior corresponding period.
- FMG.AU drew six broker target changes, with Bell Potter lifting its rating to Hold while cutting the target to $17.40, and Macquarie holding Outperform at $20.00.
At the AU close (16:15 AEST)
| Asset | Level | Change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 futures | 7,556.75 | +0.50% | Bid through the AU session |
| Nasdaq 100 futures | 28,596.25 | +0.68% | Leads US futures |
| US VIX | 16.02 | +0.19% | Flat into the US open |
| WTI crude | US$79.86 | -5.68% | OPEC+ adds 188,000 b/d from September |
| Gold | US$4,109.60/oz | +0.06% | Held its Friday settle |
| Copper | US$6.5625/lb | +1.50% | Firmest of the base metals |
| AUD/USD | 0.7026 | +0.01% | Ranged 0.7022 to 0.7058 |
Next 24h catalysts (AEST)
- Tue 00:00 US ISM July manufacturing PMI, 54.0 forecast against 53.3 in June
- Tue 11:30 AU July ANZ job advertisements
- Tue 11:30 AU June household spending, +0.2% m/m forecast against +1.3% in May
- Tue Reporting season opens with PNI.AU and CCP.AU, plus the Centuria REITs
- Tue Diggers and Dealers day two: RMS.AU, CMM.AU, WAF.AU, ALK.AU and BOE.AU present
- Wed 00:00 US July JOLTS job openings, 7.42 million forecast against 7.59 million
- Thu 00:00 US July ISM services PMI, 54.5 forecast against 54.0
- Fri 10:30 US July non-farm payrolls, +88,000 forecast with unemployment held at 4.2%
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