ASX 200 Closes at a Third Straight Record as Gold Miners Lead, 6 August 2026
ASX 200 close: 9,271.6 (+0.47%) Breadth: 178 advancers / 92 decliners (S&P/ASX 300) Sentiment: bullish
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 9,271.6 on 6 August 2026, up 43.8 points or 0.47%, a third consecutive record close, on a gold miner rally after COMEX bullion rose 3.7% overnight to US$4,314 an ounce. Pantoro Gold PNR.AU rose 9.95% with no company announcement, the largest gain among index gold producers. A partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz cut oil prices overnight, dragging inflation expectations and bond yields down with them and lifting demand for metal that pays no yield.
What moved the index
- Gold miners: the All Ordinaries Gold index rose 3.69%, a second straight session above 3%, worth roughly 16 bps of the 47 bps index move. NST.AU +3.26%, EVN.AU +3.83%, GMD.AU +4.35%, RRL.AU +5.22% and WGX.AU +5.43% all tracked COMEX gold's overnight jump to US$4,314/oz.
- Financials: the sector rose 0.45% on roughly a third of index weight, worth about 14 bps. AMP.AU +5.96% on its first-half result, ASX.AU +3.07% and NWL.AU +2.17%, while CBA.AU +0.92% was the only big-four bank to move more than half a percent.
- Health care: the sector rose 0.81%, worth about 7 bps. COH.AU +3.27%, TLX.AU +2.17%, RHC.AU +1.77% and CSL.AU +1.30% extended a recovery in last year's most heavily sold large caps.
- A-REITs and utilities: property fell 0.94% and utilities 0.39%, together about 6 bps against the index. GMG.AU -1.72%, APA.AU -1.77%, SCG.AU -1.26% and CHC.AU -1.25% all fell as bond-proxy income sectors lagged a miner-led session.
Non-gold materials added roughly 6 bps, where CIA.AU +3.53%, CSC.AU +2.70% and FMG.AU +1.43% offset RIO.AU at -0.02% and BHP.AU at +0.45%. Together the five drivers account for about 37 of the 47 bps. Broad participation supplied the rest: the S&P/ASX 300 posted 178 advancers against 92 decliners, the Small Ordinaries rose 0.91%, and eight of the 11 sectors closed higher.
Session highlights
- AMP.AU +5.96% after first-half underlying net profit rose 33% to $174 million, assets under management reached $167.6 billion, and the board added a $150 million buyback.
- REA.AU +3.43% on FY26 core net profit of $650.5 million, up 15%, with a final dividend of $1.73 fully franked, up 25%.
- SLX.AU -5.30%, BMN.AU -2.90%, DYL.AU -2.48%, PDN.AU -1.60% and BOE.AU -1.12% handed back recent uranium gains with no company news.
- BRE.AU +12.63% topped the S&P/ASX 300 on rare earths buying, with nothing released by the company.
- AQZ.AU +30.33% before a trading halt at 10:43 AEST, after revised wet-lease terms with Qantas Airways and a plan to align its fleet with reduced flying requirements.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Materials (+1.11%)
- Worst: A-REITs (-0.94%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 2.05 pts
- Gold miners rose 3.69% inside a Materials sector that gained 1.11%, while the diversified majors sat out the move, RIO.AU at -0.02% and BHP.AU at +0.45%.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| MI6.AU | +10.61% | Gold developer, no announcement, precious metals bid |
| PNR.AU | +9.95% | Gold producer, no ASX release, sector strength |
| AMP.AU | +5.96% | 1H underlying profit up 33% to $174m, $150m buyback |
| WGX.AU | +5.43% | Gold producer riding the 3.69% gold sub-index gain |
| RRL.AU | +5.22% | Second straight gold sub-index session above 3% |
| IEL.AU | -5.42% | No announcement, extends a months-long downtrend |
| SLX.AU | -5.30% | Uranium names gave back recent gains |
| EQR.AU | -4.48% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven |
| BNZ.AU | -3.96% | Gold explorer easing after a 49% month |
| RPL.AU | -3.01% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven |
Notable announcements
- AMP.AU: first-half FY26 underlying net profit $174 million, up 33%, assets under management $167.6 billion, plus a $150 million buyback.
- REA.AU: FY26 core net profit $650.5 million, up 15%, with national buy listings flat against FY25. Final dividend $1.73 fully franked.
- BPT.AU: full-year underlying profit fell 21%. The stock closed at -0.56%.
- AGE.AU: $15 million placement and $3 million share purchase plan at $0.045 per share. The stock closed -11.32%.
- Glencore confirmed it will pursue an ASX secondary listing, after its merger approach to RIO.AU failed earlier this year.
At the AU close (data as at 17:30 AEST)
| Asset | Level | Change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 futures | 7,762.25 | +0.16% | Held a narrow range through the AU session |
| Nasdaq 100 futures | 29,545.25 | -0.24% | Lower alongside the Asian chip names |
| KOSPI | 6,296.38 | -4.58% | SK Hynix -10.37%, Samsung Electronics -6.30% |
| Nikkei 225 | 65,683.26 | -0.93% | Tokyo Electron -5.50%, SoftBank -4.41% |
| Hang Seng | 25,497.05 | -1.62% | Still trading at the AU close |
| Gold | US$4,317.90 | +0.30% | Peaked at US$4,354.50 near midday AEST |
| Brent | US$79.59 | +0.18% | Below US$80 since the Hormuz agreement |
| AUD/USD | 0.7045 | -0.16% | US dollar index steady at 99.74 |
South Korea's KOSPI fell 4.58% while the ASX 200 set a record. SK Hynix fell 10.37%, Samsung Electronics 6.30% and Taiwan Semiconductor 1.66%, and the ASX 200 lists no equivalent memory or foundry name. Banks make up roughly a third of the Australian index and miners about a fifth, so bullion outweighed a regional chip selloff.
Next 24h catalysts (AEST)
- Fri 10:00 ASX open. SPI futures pointed 8 points lower before today's session; the index closed 43.8 points higher.
- Fri RMD.AU FY26 result, consensus net profit US$1,600.2 million. NCK.AU and CQR.AU also report FY26.
- Fri 22:30 US July non-farm payrolls. Consensus +88,000 against +57,000 in June, unemployment rate 4.2%, average hourly earnings +0.3% month on month.
- Mon 10 Aug WBC.AU third-quarter update and CAR.AU FY26 result.
- Wed 12 Aug CBA.AU FY26 result, consensus net profit $10,874.8 million with a 500 cent final dividend.
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