ASX 200 Rises 0.17% to 8,679.7 as Banks and Health Care Offset a 3% Gold Drop
ASX 200 close: 8,679.7 (+0.17%) Breadth: 98 advancers / 138 decliners (236-name sweep) Sentiment: mixed
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,679.7 on 28 September 2026, up 14.7 points or 0.17%, as Financials (+1.16%) and Health Care (+1.49%) outweighed a 1.34% fall in Materials after gold futures dropped 3.03% to US$4,190.3/oz. NST.AU rose 6.15% to $23.47 after its board rejected a Gold Fields proposal valued at $25.19 a share on 25 September pricing. CME FedWatch put the odds of an October Fed rate rise at about 70%, up from about 55% a week earlier, and gold futures fell below US$4,200 for the first time in eight weeks.
What moved the index
The index gained about 17 bps. Three sector moves account for most of it.
- Financials: +1.16%, worth about +35 bps. WBC.AU +1.59%, ANZ.AU +1.56%, NAB.AU +1.50%, CBA.AU +0.46% and MQG.AU +2.28% rose on the eve of Tuesday's RBA decision, where all four major banks expect a lift in the cash rate to 4.60%.
- Health Care: +1.49%, worth about +13 bps. CSL.AU +2.80% to $181.91 and COH.AU +1.99% led the sector; neither lodged an announcement.
- Materials: -1.34%, worth about -28 bps. BHP.AU -1.52%, RIO.AU -1.10% and FMG.AU -0.67% fell as copper futures slid 2.09%; the All Ords Gold index lost 1.57% as gold fell 3.03% and silver 5.17%.
Together the three drivers net to about +20 bps against the 17 bps index move. Energy (-0.22%) and Info Tech (-0.74%) account for most of the residual.
Session highlights
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,679.7 on 28 September 2026, up 0.17%, while the All Ordinaries rose 0.06% and 138 of 236 swept names fell.
- NST.AU +6.15% to $23.47. Gold Fields offered 0.3125 of its shares plus $7.25 cash per Northern Star share, which the board rejected as short of fundamental value; the stock closed below the $25.19 implied value.
- KAR.AU -12.89% to $1.555. A cable fault on the SPS-92 well at Baúna, offshore Brazil, cut 2026 group guidance from 7.2 to 8.2 MMboe to 6.6 to 7.2 MMboe.
- INA.AU +5.78% to $4.76 on a third Warburg Pincus proposal at $5.25 a security, after the board rejected $4.75 and $5.05. The bidder wants board conditions agreed by 2 October.
- 5,025.8 for the ASX 20, up 0.53%, while the Small Ordinaries fell 1.30% to 3,312.0.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Health Care (+1.49%)
- Worst: Materials (-1.34%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 2.83 pts
- Gold producers show the widest internal spread: NST.AU +6.15% against OBM.AU -6.15%, VAU.AU -5.83%, GMD.AU -5.75%, RRL.AU -3.63%, EVN.AU -2.99%, PRU.AU -2.56% and NEM.AU -2.37% (1 up, 7 down).
Utilities (+1.17%), Consumer Staples (+0.83%) and A-REITs (+0.57%) also rose; the ASX 200 Resources index fell 1.28%.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| NST.AU | +6.15% | Rejected Gold Fields proposal worth $25.19 a share on 25 Sep pricing |
| INA.AU | +5.78% | Third Warburg Pincus proposal at $5.25 a security |
| UOS.AU | +4.03% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| CSL.AU | +2.80% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| SUN.AU | +2.69% | Buy-back notice update lodged 27 Sep |
| KAR.AU | -12.89% | SPS-92 cable fault; 2026 guidance cut to 6.6 to 7.2 MMboe |
| MI6.AU | -10.64% | Share purchase plan opened 27 Sep |
| BRE.AU | -9.64% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| CXO.AU | -8.70% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| EOS.AU | -6.54% | Only filing: a substantial holder notice |
Notable announcements
- NST.AU: Gold Fields proposal valued at $38.7 billion on 11 September pricing and $36.1 billion on 25 September pricing; about 73% of the consideration was in Gold Fields stock.
- KAR.AU: about 3,500 barrels a day offline at Baúna until a rig intervention replaces the cable; unit cost guidance raised to US$15 to US$16 per boe.
- INA.AU: $5.25 a security values the group at about $2.1 billion.
- Treasury reported an FY26 budget deficit of $22.3 billion, against a $28.3 billion forecast.
At the AU close (Yahoo snapshot, 17:30 AEST)
| Asset | Level | Change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 (cash) | 7,743.41 | +0.51% | Friday close |
| S&P 500 futures (Dec) | 7,768.75 | -0.45% | Nasdaq 100 futures -0.96% |
| STOXX 600 | 640.41 | +0.28% | Mid-session; DAX +0.06% |
| Nikkei 225 | 65,877.62 | -0.73% | Closed; KOSPI -2.70% |
| Hang Seng | 24,651.93 | +0.58% | Shanghai Composite -1.67% |
| Brent (Nov) | US$107.35 | +2.90% | Trump rejected Iran's Hormuz plan |
| Gold (Dec) | US$4,190.3/oz | -3.03% | October Fed hike odds about 70% |
| AUD/USD | 0.7017 | -0.13% | Dollar index 101.18 |
Next 24h catalysts (AEST)
- Tue 09:50: SPI day session opens; S&P 500 futures -0.45% at the AU close.
- Tue 11:30: ABS Monthly Household Spending Indicator, August.
- Tue 14:30: RBA cash rate decision; all four major banks expect a 25 bp rise to 4.60%.
- Wed 00:00: US JOLTS job openings, August.
- Fri 2 Oct: Deadline in the Warburg Pincus proposal for INA.AU board conditions.
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