News 8 July 2026 - 9 July 2026

Evolution Mining Shares Drop as Gold Stalls on Rate Worries
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Evolution Mining Shares Drop as Gold Stalls on Rate Worries

Evolution Mining stock is set for a weak open on Thursday after finishing Wednesday at A$11.44, down 4.19%. Lower bullion prices weighed on Australian gold miners. The ASX will open for regular trade shortly before 10 a.m. Sydney. Timing is a key issue here. Evolution’s next test comes soon, with the miner confirming its June-quarter report will be out before the open on July 15. Managing Director and CEO Lawrie Conway and COO Matt O’Neill are set for a call at 10:30 a.m. Sydney time.
July 9, 2026
QBE Shares Hit 52-Week High as Insurer Faces Australia CEO Handover
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QBE Shares Hit 52-Week High as Insurer Faces Australia CEO Handover

QBE Insurance Group Limited shares ended Wednesday at A$25.40, up 1.64%, after touching A$25.49, a 52-week high, as investors absorbed a leadership change at the insurer’s Australia Pacific business. QBE said Sue Houghton, chief executive of Australia Pacific, plans to retire at the end of 2026. The ASX was not yet in normal trading at publication. Normal trading on the Australian Securities Exchange runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sydney time, leaving Wednesday’s close as the latest full-session read before Thursday’s open.
July 9, 2026
South32 Shares Pause After Alcoa Boost
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South32 Shares Pause After Alcoa Boost

South32 Ltd. is set for Thursday’s Sydney start with shares last at A$3.95, down 1.25%. The move comes after last week’s Alcoa-driven run cooled off. ASX’s July 8 most-traded list put South32 among the top 20 by value, with around A$91.0 million traded that day. The equity market hasn’t opened yet. Market Index gives live prices when the market trades, from 10 a.m. to 4:13 p.m. AEST. As of now, Wednesday’s close is the latest full reference for the stock before trading resumes.
July 9, 2026
WiseTech’s Founder Shock Still Hangs Over WTC Shares
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WiseTech’s Founder Shock Still Hangs Over WTC Shares

WiseTech Global shares dropped in Sydney on Wednesday, pulling back after a recent governance bounce. Founder Richard White is no longer executive chair but has remained with the logistics software firm. WiseTech shares ended at A$34.65 on July 8, falling A$2.72, or 7.28%. That drop erased the gains from the prior session, when Raelene Murphy was named independent chair. WiseTech is now down almost 70% over the past year, a sharp fall for a former Australian tech leader.
July 9, 2026
Northern Star Resources Shares Slide as Gold Selloff Puts CEO Reset Under Pressure
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Northern Star Resources Shares Slide as Gold Selloff Puts CEO Reset Under Pressure

Northern Star Resources heads into Thursday’s ASX session on the back foot after its shares fell 1.69% to A$20.31 in the previous session, caught in a broader selloff in Australian gold names as bullion retreated. The S&P/ASX 200, the main local share benchmark, closed 0.21% lower at 8,785.10 on Wednesday. The market had not yet opened at the dateline time. With July 9 not listed among ASX’s 2026 market closures, regular cash trading was due to start at 9:59 a.m. Sydney time and run to 4 p.m.
July 8, 2026
Aristocrat Leisure Stock: The $2.5 Billion Buyback Keeping ASX Traders Awake
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Aristocrat Leisure Stock: The $2.5 Billion Buyback Keeping ASX Traders Awake

Aristocrat Leisure Ltd heads into Thursday’s ASX session with its buyback back in focus after the shares finished Wednesday almost flat at A$62.09, up 0.06%, on volume of 1.55 million shares. The stock traded between A$61.67 and A$62.53, according to Google Finance data. The market was not yet in normal trading at the dateline time. ASX cash equities run in pre-open from 7:00 a.m. Sydney time before normal trading starts from 09:59:45 and runs to 16:00.
July 8, 2026
Liontown Drops Again With Lithium Prices Pressuring Kathleen Valley
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Liontown Drops Again With Lithium Prices Pressuring Kathleen Valley

Liontown Ltd shares face renewed selling going into Thursday’s ASX trade, after falling 4.25% to A$1.465 at Wednesday’s close. The reversal adds to the slide in the lithium player. Google Finance listed the latest price as of 4:11 p.m. Sydney time on July 8, with the day’s range between A$1.44 and A$1.52. Volume was 70.63 million shares. The timing is important because the ASX had not started continuous trading at the dateline. The exchange says its pre-open runs from 7:00 a.m. to 9:59 a.m. in Sydney, letting brokers place orders but with no matching on ASX Trade. Regular trading goes from around 9:59:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
July 8, 2026
The Chip ETF Rebound Is Hiding A $2 Trillion Surprise
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The Chip ETF Rebound Is Hiding A $2 Trillion Surprise

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF rebounded on Wednesday, but the move did not settle the sharper question hanging over the chip trade: what investors actually own when they buy a semiconductor fund. SMH last traded at about $593, up roughly 2%, a day after selling pressure pushed the fund below its 50-day moving average, a trend line that tracks the average price over the past 50 sessions and is watched by traders as a momentum gauge. Seeking Alpha said market analyst Mike Zaccardi had flagged the break as the fund headed for its weakest close since late May.
July 8, 2026
PLS drops as lithium rally stoked by China supply fears
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PLS drops as lithium rally stoked by China supply fears

PLS Group Ltd. dropped Wednesday as a new round of selling hit Australian lithium stocks. Traders tracked news that China’s CATL cleared a major hurdle to restart a battery metals mine. PLS ended at A$4.70, off 3.29%. Core Lithium slid 12.1% and Liontown lost 4.25%. The S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.21% at 8,785.10. Timing is key here. PLS, which used to be Pilbara Minerals, stands out on the ASX as a straight lithium price play. But now the market is starting to ask if the latest run-up in battery metal prices has already tempted too much supply back onto the market.
July 8, 2026
Goodman Shares Fall as AI Data-Centre Push Sees Market Pressure
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Goodman Shares Fall as AI Data-Centre Push Sees Market Pressure

Goodman Group dropped harder than Australia’s main index on Wednesday. Investors gave a lower price to the fast-growing data centre pipeline ahead of Thursday’s open. Goodman shares ended 1.6% lower at A$30.19. The S&P/ASX 200 was off 0.21%. Goodman’s market cap held near A$61.7 billion, making it one of Australia’s bigger stocks tied to AI infrastructure demand.
July 8, 2026
CSL stock eyes new test as Sanofi enters picture after tough year
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CSL stock eyes new test as Sanofi enters picture after tough year

CSL Ltd. is back in focus for Thursday’s Australian session, as Sanofi put pledges to EU regulators about its actions toward CSL Seqirus’s Fluad flu shot. Investors are watching the latest on the vaccine development. The stock finished Wednesday up 0.27% at A$124.30. The S&P/ASX 200, which tracks big listed names and is a key local market benchmark for institutions, slipped 0.21% to 8,785.10.
July 8, 2026
Fortescue shares up as miner hits 200Mt shipped, market keeps an eye on margins
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Fortescue (ASX:FMG) avoids mining sector drop with China iron ore cut-off ahead

Fortescue shares held steady, skirting a wider mining selloff, as traders watched for a decision out of China on iron-ore deadlines. Sydney, July 9, 2026, 06:04 AEST Shares of Fortescue Ltd moved up in the last ASX session. The iron-ore producer’s small gain came as the wider mining sector fell, with investors looking at its China links and new legal and energy-unit risks.
July 8, 2026
Santos clinches 200 PJ Cooper Basin gas deal, sets savings target as Pikka ramp looms
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Santos jumps 5.8% as ASX slides

Santos Limited finished up strongly Wednesday, jumping 5.78% to A$7.50. Investors returned to Australian energy stocks after another move up in oil prices. The shares gained A$0.41 from the previous close at A$7.09 and changed hands in a tight A$7.30 to A$7.55 range. Energy led gains as the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.21% to 8,785.10. Woodside Energy added 3.22% and Ampol was up 1.37%, even as the rest of the market dropped, a market report said.
July 8, 2026
ANZ shares lag bank rally as APRA risk-weight plan gives investors a 2027 reason to wait
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ANZ Holds Up as ASX Drops; Bigger Test Ahead

ANZ Group Holdings Limited finished up 1.21% at A$35.87 Wednesday, running counter to weaker action in the wider Australian market. Investors held on to the major banks as new Middle East tension kept oil and interest rate risks in focus. Shares traded in a range from A$34.92 to A$35.95, according to Google Finance. The move stood out since the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 18.80 points, or 0.21%, settling at 8,785.10. ANZ’s rise seemed to be part of a broader rally among banks, lending some support as the market took a hit from oil and geopolitical news.
July 8, 2026
Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) up while ASX fell; Bunnings in focus
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Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) up while ASX fell; Bunnings in focus

Wesfarmers Ltd finished higher on Wednesday, closing at A$90.18, up 0.47%, even as the S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.21% to 8,785.10. The stock carried that gain into Thursday’s pre-open. Wesfarmers’ move stood out with Australia’s main index in the red. Normal trading on the ASX cash market runs from 09:59:45 to 16:00 Sydney time. That stood out since Wednesday didn’t see much risk appetite. Stockhead said the benchmark clawed back from a 1.44% drop during the day to end off just 0.21%. Miners, telecoms and tech names were under pressure, and investors moved toward defensive sectors — names viewed as steadier when growth gets shaky.
July 8, 2026
Woodside Shares Jump After Oil Shock Sparks ASX Energy Rally
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Woodside Shares Jump After Oil Shock Sparks ASX Energy Rally

Woodside Energy Group Ltd jumped 3.22% to A$28.87 on Wednesday, rising even as the wider Australian market slipped. Investors rotated back into oil and gas stocks after new trouble in the Gulf. The S&P/ASX 200 edged down 0.21% to 8,785.10. Energy was one of the few strong sectors. No trades took place at the dateline. The ASX was scheduled to trade July 9 between 9:59 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. AEST, leaving Wednesday’s close as the last available cash-market price.
July 8, 2026
Macquarie Shares Slip Near 52-Week High as Oil Shock Tests Deal Revival
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Macquarie Shares Slip Near 52-Week High as Oil Shock Tests Deal Revival

Macquarie Group Ltd ended lower on Wednesday, slipping 0.5% to A$252.04 as Australian shares softened ahead of Thursday’s open, with investors balancing a strong earnings backdrop against fresh oil and rate worries. The stock last traded just below its A$254.31 52-week high and carried a market value of about A$96.69 billion. That makes the next few sessions less about one day’s price move and more about how much good news is already in the stock. Macquarie has gained 24.8% in 2026, according to Intelligent Investor data, outpacing many domestic financial names and leaving less room for disappointment before its July 23 annual meeting.
July 8, 2026
Westpac Holds Up in ASX Drop With Rate Uncertainty Ahead
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Westpac Holds Up in ASX Drop With Rate Uncertainty Ahead

Westpac Banking Corporation shares traded a bit higher on Wednesday, defying losses across the wider Australian market. Investors moved cash into banks and other defensive stocks, with the session hit by fresh U.S.-Iran worries and miners down. Westpac ended the session at A$36.25, rising 0.33%. Shares traded from A$35.34 to A$36.47. The S&P/ASX 200 dipped 0.21% to 8,785.10. Westpac outperformed the index but lagged some other major banks for the day.
July 8, 2026
Telstra Slips, Traders Watch Next ASX Open
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Telstra Slips, Traders Watch Next ASX Open

Telstra Group Limited heads into Thursday’s ASX pre-open facing heat after shares finished down 2.96% at A$4.92. A nationwide outage hit the company hard and put fresh scrutiny on Telstra’s reliability. The S&P/ASX 200 slipped just 0.21% to 8,785.1, letting Telstra underperform the wider market. ASX regular trading doesn't begin until 10 a.m. Sydney, so Telstra investors haven’t had a full chance to react to the company’s late-day statement, fallout from the emergency call issue, or any comment from regulators. That leaves the next open in focus. It’s now about more than just service coming back; the market needs to mark in whether Telstra, as a defensive stock, gets priced for higher operational risk.
July 8, 2026
Commonwealth Bank stock rises as ASX falls, premium valuation faces rate test
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Commonwealth Bank stock rises as ASX falls, premium valuation faces rate test

At 04:01 in Sydney, Commonwealth Bank of Australia was no longer trading. The ASX cash market’s normal session had ended hours earlier, with the main trading phase running from 09:59:45 to 16:00 Sydney time and auction/post-close phases after that. The useful signal was Wednesday’s close. CBA finished at A$168.18, its high for the day, after opening at A$165.10 and trading as low as A$164.13. Volume was about 1.76 million shares. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.21% to 8,785.10.
July 8, 2026
BHP faces Port Hedland strike threat as copper growth story in focus
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BHP faces Port Hedland strike threat as copper growth story in focus

BHP Group Ltd goes into Thursday’s session with shares under pressure as the market treats a short labour stoppage as something that could drag out and challenge the miner’s main cash source. The ASX gave BHP’s latest close at A$57.51, down 2.31%. For the S&P/ASX 200, the daily wrap showed a 0.21% drop. That 2.10 percentage point difference points to a BHP-driven selloff, not just overall weakness in Australia. It's awkward for shareholders since iron ore actually climbed. Trading Economics showed iron ore CNY at 746 yuan a tonne for July 8, up 1.43%, with futures gaining on news of the planned BHP Port Hedland strike. Usually a miner with low-cost tonnes gets a lift from higher ore prices. BHP
July 8, 2026
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