ASX 200 closes flat at 9,263.6 as gold and lithium miners offset a 0.95% fall in financials
ASX 200 close: 9,263.6 (-0.09%) Breadth: 145 advancers / 135 decliners (S&P/ASX 300) Sentiment: mixed
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 9,263.6 on 7 August 2026, down 8.0 points or 0.09%, as a 1.32% gain in materials almost exactly cancelled a 0.95% fall in financials. ResMed RMD.AU dropped 8.29% after its FY26 result put device revenue across the US, Canada and Latin America at US$459 million against US$462.3 million consensus. COMEX gold rose 1.18% to US$4,350/oz and COMEX copper touched a record US$6.866/lb overnight, lifting the miners while the four major banks each fell about 1% ahead of their results next week.
What moved the index
The index fell 9 basis points.
- Financials -0.95%, worth roughly -29 bps. WBC.AU -1.56%, NAB.AU -1.10%, MQG.AU -1.05%, CBA.AU -1.03% and ANZ.AU -1.00% all fell. Sellers used the banks to fund the week's resources bid, and the results calendar starts Monday: Westpac's third-quarter update on 10 August, Commonwealth Bank's FY26 result on 12 August.
- Materials +1.32%, worth roughly +29 bps. The ASX 200 gold sub-index gained 3.45% for a fourth straight session on COMEX gold +1.18%, while GFEX lithium carbonate futures rose 1.1% to CNY 143,020/t and lifted the lithium names.
- Health care -0.92%, worth roughly -7 bps. RMD.AU -8.29% did the bulk of that on its own: CSL.AU, the sector's largest constituent, finished at -0.13%, with PME.AU -1.07% and COH.AU -0.90% adding smaller falls.
Financials and materials cancelled to within about 1 bp of each other, so health care set the direction. Energy (+0.58%) and information technology (+0.77%) added back about 6 bps, against industrials (-0.62%) and consumer discretionary (-0.52%) at about -7 bps. Those pieces sum to roughly -9 bps, which is the close.
Session highlights
The S&P/ASX 200 opened at 9,221.1 on 7 August 2026, its session low, and recovered 42.5 points through the afternoon to close 0.10% below its 9,273.1 high.
- LTR.AU +9.26% and PLS.AU +6.51% led the lithium cohort, with ELV.AU +6.62%, CXO.AU +5.56% and MIN.AU +3.83% behind them, after GFEX carbonate futures steadied at CNY 143,020/t.
- 3.45% was the gain in the gold sub-index, its fourth consecutive rise: GMD.AU +6.10%, CMM.AU +5.77%, VAU.AU +5.42%, WAF.AU +4.82% and RRL.AU +3.40%.
- CHN.AU +8.76%, ILU.AU +4.42% and LYC.AU +3.50% led rare earths and critical minerals.
- FMG.AU -2.33% was the weakest large-cap miner as SGX iron ore futures eased 0.9% to US$95.30/t, against BHP.AU +0.24% and RIO.AU +0.79%.
- 287 points, or 3.2%, was the index gain for the week, closing 0.4% below its intraweek high.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Materials (+1.32%)
- Worst: Financials (-0.95%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 2.27 pts
- Materials held the widest internal spread: LTR.AU +9.26% at the top against FMG.AU -2.33% at the bottom, a gap of 11.6 points, with gold and lithium rising while iron ore lagged.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| LTR.AU | +9.26% | GFEX lithium carbonate +1.1% to CNY 143,020/t |
| AXQ.AU | +8.44% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven |
| PMT.AU | +8.14% | Same lithium bid, no company news |
| TLX.AU | +7.65% | No announcement lodged today |
| BC8.AU | +6.70% | Gold sub-index +3.45%, bullion at US$4,350/oz |
| 4DX.AU | -9.05% | Retracing a rally that ran 788% over 12 months |
| RMD.AU | -8.29% | FY26 device revenue US$459m against US$462.3m consensus |
| EIQ.AU | -5.16% | No announcement lodged today |
| EQR.AU | -4.69% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven |
| DRO.AU | -4.39% | Citi lodged a 5.06% substantial holder notice |
Notable announcements
- ResMed RMD.AU reported FY26 revenue in line with forecasts, a slight earnings beat and a 10% dividend increase, but device revenue across the US, Canada and Latin America came in at US$459 million against US$462.3 million consensus.
- James Hardie JHX.AU +5.78% posted June-quarter income up 67% to US$104.3 million, ahead of consensus and its earlier FY guidance upgrade.
- Elevra Lithium ELV.AU +6.62% sold its rights in the Tabba Tabba project to Wildcat Resources for $16 million plus an ongoing royalty.
- DroneShield DRO.AU -4.39% disclosed a Citi substantial holder notice at 5.06%, held as agent lender under a securities lending agreement.
- AMP.AU +4.76% rose after seven brokers lifted their valuations on the stock.
At the AU close (17:30 AEST)
| Asset | Level | Change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 futures | 7,740.5 | +0.07% | Above Thursday's 7,710.0 cash close, payrolls tonight |
| Nasdaq 100 futures | 29,585.5 | +0.33% | Thursday's Nasdaq cash close was 26,348.4 (-0.06%) |
| Nikkei 225 | 65,606.7 | -0.12% | Closed |
| Hang Seng | 25,642.9 | +0.44% | Still trading at the AU bell |
| Brent crude | US$83.20 | +0.86% | Iran threatened to bar US and Israeli ships from the Hormuz deal |
| Gold | US$4,350/oz | +1.18% | Fourth consecutive session higher |
| Copper | US$6.7375/lb | +0.42% | Eased from an overnight record US$6.866/lb |
| AUD/USD | 0.7036 | +0.08% | Held the 70 cent handle |
| US VIX | 15.30 | +0.99% | AU VIX fell 7.56% to 10.23 |
Next 24h catalysts (AEST)
- Fri 22:30 US July non-farm payrolls: +88,000 forecast against +57,000 in June, unemployment rate 4.2% forecast, average hourly earnings +0.3% month on month
- Sat 06:00 Wall Street cash close, which sets Monday's SPI lead
- Mon 09:00 ASX reopens; SPI futures resume
- Mon 10 Aug Westpac WBC.AU third-quarter update, the first of the bank results the sector was pricing today
- Wed 12 Aug Commonwealth Bank CBA.AU FY26 result, consensus NPAT $10,875 million and a 500c final dividend
- Thu 13 Aug ANZ.AU third-quarter update
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