Market wrap: ASX flies to a new record as Commonwealth Bank takes top spot

Australia’s share market ended the week on a strongly positive note, hitting a fresh record high and establishing Commonwealth Bank as our biggest company.

By the Friday close the ASX 200 Index had risen 69.7 points (0.9%) to a record 7959.3 points and finished the week up a solid 1.2%.

Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) continued its record-breaking run, closing at an amazing $131.64 per share with a market capitalisation of $221 billion.

That pushed it into a position of market dominance after a stunning 32.8% share price rise for the year saw it eclipse the global miner BHP (ASX: BHP).

BHP shares finished 0.4% down at $43.40 as it continued a long-term decline, being down 1.6% over the past year to a market capitalisation of $220.9 billion.

‘Disappointing’ nickel production suspension

That follows BHP’s announcement of the unwelcome news that it plans to suspend nickel mining operations in Western Australia, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese describing BHP’s plan to shut down the nickel mining and processing business for at least three years as “very disappointing.”

BHP has been hit hard as higher volumes of Indonesian produced nickel help to drive nickel prices down.

BHP has said that frontline workers will be redeployed but with 3000 employees and many more contractors, the shutdown will have a dramatic effect on the mining workforce.

BHP will review the temporary closure by February 2027 but there is a chance that many of the nickel mining and refining operations will close for good.

Official rate cuts firm up in US

One of the big influences on the market came from the US, despite Wall Street shares being a mixed bag with the tech-heavy Nasdaq and S&P 500 both closing lower while the Dow Jones index rose.

The big news was that US inflation came in at a stunning 3% for the year to June, with prices actually falling 0.1% from May to June.

That news saw traders virtually lock in the prospect of interest rate cuts, with a September quarter rate cut now seen as close to a certainty.

Markets are now closing in on pricing 60 basis points of official US rate cuts by the end of the year as an expectation which is feeding into a move out of the big technology companies and into smaller companies that are expected to benefit more from interest rate cuts.

The US share moves were echoed in Australia, with technology the only sector to lose ground with a 1.2% fall.

Australian property shares rose strongly with the real estate index up a whisker below 2% for the day.

There were also plenty of positive moves in other interest rate sensitive sectors, including healthcare, consumer discretionary and also for gold miners.

The Australian dollar continued its rise based on the chance rates would stay higher here than in other markets, fetching US67.6¢.

Gold also benefitted from the growing certainty around US rate cuts, rising as high as US$2,400 after the US inflation news was released.

Small cap stock action

The Small Ords index rallied 2.61% for the week to close at 3065.5 points.

Small cap companies making headlines this week were:

GenusPlus Group (ASX: GNP)

Specialist infrastructure provider GenusPlus has secured a five-year contract with Western Power for maintenance and upgrades on Western Australia’s Southwest Interconnecting System (SWIS), expected to generate $50 million in the first 12 months.

The contract includes re-stringing transmission towers, repairing defects, and replacing poles and cross arms, with work to be completed by mid-2025.

GenusPlus will also handle the construction of pole civil foundations and installation of transmission poles, conductors, and hardware.

This contract extends GenusPlus’ long-standing relationship with Western Power, emphasising their role in maintaining reliable electricity infrastructure.

Additionally, GenusPlus was awarded $50 million in contracts by Fortescue for civil foundation construction and a transmission line to support Fortescue’s decarbonisation plan.

Ora Banda Mining (ASX: OBM)

The board of Ora Banda Mining has approved a $39 million investment for the development of the Sand King underground mine at the Davyhurst gold project in Western Australia, aiming for first production by year-end and steady-state production of 60,000 ounces per annum by mid-2025.

This development will be funded from existing cash and revenue from the Riverina underground mine.

Managing director Luke Creagh stated that this aligns with the company’s goal of operating at least two high-grade mines and achieving mid-tier status by June 2025.

Ora Banda has budgeted $25 million for exploration in 2025 and up to $40 million for the following period, with plans for a 45km underground drilling program to expand resources.

Combined production from Riverina and Sand King is expected to reach 150,000ozpa by 2026, reducing the all-in sustaining cashflow to below $1,890/oz.

Solis Minerals (ASX: SLM)

Solis Minerals has obtained high-grade copper samples, up to 7.14%, from early exploration at the Cinto project in Peru and is preparing to fast-track drilling.

After gaining access to the site, Solis conducted a sampling program revealing the area’s high-grade potential, which executive director Matthew Boyes finds compelling.

The geochemical signature suggests proximity to a large porphyry system, similar to the Toquepala deposit.

Solis plans to undertake geophysical and detailed mapping programs while applying for drilling permits.

In addition, Solis has expanded its Peruvian interests, securing a 6,400-hectare package and now holding 43,500 hectares of exploration areas along the coastal belt.

Killi Resources (ASX: KLI)

Surface rock chip sampling by Killi Resources at the Mt Rawdon West project in Queensland has returned high-grade copper-gold-silver assays, confirming mineralisation over a 1.8-kilometre trend at the untested Kaa target.

A standout sample returned 238 grams per tonne of gold, 2.1% copper, and 513g/t silver, indicating a previously unrecognised epithermal system.

Encouraged by these results, Killi plans to continue exploration aggressively, including local-scale surface mapping and a ground-induced polarisation survey to identify potential sulphides beneath the surface mineralisation.

Fieldwork has identified a high-grade copper-gold structure extending from the historical Wonbah copper mine along the soil anomaly. Further soil sampling is planned to test the trend’s continuation.

Augustus Minerals (ASX: AUG)

Augustus Minerals has reported high-grade copper of up to 35% in rock chips from the Ti-Tree project in Western Australia’s Gascoyne Region.

The samples also revealed significant levels of silver, gold, and molybdenum, highlighting the untapped potential for precious and base metal mineralisation at Ti-Tree.

Mapping and sampling continue, with preparations underway for diamond drilling at the Minnie Springs molybdenum-copper porphyry, supported by a government co-funded drilling grant.

In June, 231 samples were collected, unveiling new prospects with encouraging results.

Further exploration, including a time domain electromagnetic survey, is planned to investigate additional multi-metal targets.

The week ahead

The coming week should give us greater detail on how quickly the Australian economy is weakening with Thursday’s release of job numbers the best guide.

So far there have been few official signs of weakness with a growth in full time jobs in May and the unemployment rate down to 4% but that might all change if there are some signs of weakness in the jobs market this week.

Chinese data to show slowing growth?

An avalanche of Chinese data will give analysts plenty to chew on this week with releases including retail sales, industrial production, fixed asset investment, new home prices and the jobless rate all out on Monday.

Also of interest will be the numbers around Chinese economic growth with an expansion of around 0.8% expected in the June quarter, although the annual growth rate is expected to ease back to 5% from 5.3% in the prior quarter as the Chinese property slowdown puts downward pressure on consumer spending.

Moving to the US, retail sales figures for June should give an indication of whether high borrowing costs are continuing to put pressure on consumer spending.

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