Weekly wrap: shares take a breather as Wall Street finds caution

Australia’s share market took a breather on Friday as Wall Street turned cautious about whether the Federal Reserve will continue to cut interest rates this month.

By the close of trade the ASX 200 had dropped 0.6% or 54 points to 8420.9 points with only one of the 11 sectors closing up.

The fall meant that the ASX 200 has lost 0.2% for the week after reaching a record high of 8514.5 points on Tuesday.

Banks all lower

The overall drop wasn’t surprising with the banks all closing lower, led down by Westpac (ASX: WBC) shares which dropped 1.4% to $32.76, while Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) shares fell 0.6% to $157.06, National Australia Bank (ASX: NAB) fell 0.36% to $38.80 and ANZ (ASX: ANZ) fell 0.1% to $31.15.

While traders are growing more hopeful of a cut in the Reserve Bank’s cash interest rate by February, that has not translated into higher share prices for the banks at this stage.

Utilities swim against the tide

The utilities index was up almost 0.4%, driven higher by a 1.4% share price rise to $7.27 for Australia’s biggest natural gas pipeline company APA Group (ASX: APA), which jumped after the energy regulator confirmed it would not subject the company’s South West Queensland Gas Pipeline to full price regulation.

It was a different story for pure energy shares which tracked lower in line with the weakening oil price after the OPEC Plus group of oil producers delayed its planned output increase by three months until April.

Oil stocks fall

That saw Woodside (ASX: WDS) lose almost 2.2% to $24.06 and Santos (ASX: STO) also fell 1.2% to $6.59.

There were some knocks to be suffered among the miners too with shares in rare earth miner Iluka Resources (ASX: ILU) down a whopping 10% to $4.93 after it announced an extra $214 million cash contribution was needed to cover the cost blowout of its domestic rare earths refinery.

Broker calls and resignation push shares lower

An underperform rating attributed to Domino’s Pizza (ASX: DMP) by Macquarie cut the share price by 2.3% to $32.48, with the broker saying that a decline in franchisee profitability was jeopardising the chain’s new store openings.

A more significant “sell” rating handed out to copper miner 29Metals (ASX: 29M) by Citi saw its shares fall 2% to 25c, with the broker flagging potential funding issues.

In other news that moved share prices, the resignation of Aristocrat (ASX: ALL) chief executive Hector Fernandez saw shares in the gambling company fall 3% to $67.68.

Small cap stock action

The Small Ords index inched 0.32% higher for the week to close at 3209.1 points.

Small cap companies making headlines this week were:

NoviqTech (ASX: NVQ)

NoviqTech has increased its Hedera HBAR holdings to over 1.5 million tokens with a $150,000 acquisition, reinforcing its commitment to Hedera’s eco-friendly Hashgraph technology.

The technology underpins NoviqTech’s Carbon Central platform, enabling real-time, auditable ESG solutions for carbon management and traceability.

The company views its partnership with Hedera as integral to its blockchain strategy and plans further investments to align with Hedera’s transformative potential in advancing sustainable and transparent systems.

The company also elevated its partnership with Global Resource Recovery (GRR) to a strategic alliance, positioning GRR as a channel partner for its Carbon Central platform within the Australian oil and gas sector.

GRR will now market the blockchain-enabled platform to top-tier clients, earning a 20% profit share from new customer sales, while continuing to drive adoption across the industry.

The collaboration leverages GRR’s expertise and industry presence to accelerate Carbon Central’s adoption, meeting growing demand for transparent, sustainable solutions amid tightening emissions reporting regulations.

GBM Resources (ASX: GBZ)

GBM Resources has increased gold production at the White Dam gold project in South Australia while awaiting the completion of its sale to Olary Gold Mines.

The introduction of new heap leach material and higher Australian dollar gold prices boosted production to 466 ounces this quarter, generating approximately $1.9 million in revenue.

GBM is preparing to sell fine carbon stocks containing gold, further strengthening its working capital position for 2025, with potential for higher production next quarter due to ongoing maintenance.

Although the sale to Olary is delayed, GBM is engaging with other interested parties and remains focused on its Drummond Basin projects and the Twin Hills farm-in agreement.

Invion (ASX: IVX)

Invion has dosed the first patient in its Phase I/II trial for non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) using its lead candidate, INV043, a novel photosensitiser for photodynamic therapy (PDT).

The trial aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of INV043, which pre-clinical studies suggest may offer advantages over current treatments, including reduced scarring and minimal pain.

The milestone follows promising Phase II prostate cancer trial results, with plans to expand PDT applications to anogenital cancers and explore combinations with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

With NMSC accounting for over 98% of global skin cancers, INV043 has the potential to meet the urgent demand for effective, affordable, and less invasive treatments.

Lithium Universe (ASX: LU7)

Lithium Universe has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with logistics specialist Servitank to support its Bécancour lithium refinery operations in Quebec.

Servitank will optimise supply chain processes, including the storage and transportation of essential chemical reagents and by-products, leveraging its expertise and local experience in the region.

The partnership aims to streamline logistics, enhance operational efficiency, and explore sustainable solutions, such as utilising alumina silicate by-products and sodium sulphate for other industries.

The agreement marks a significant step toward Lithium Universe’s goal of closing the ‘Lithium Conversion Gap’ in North America and advancing its green lithium carbonate production.

Aldoro Resources (ASX: ARN)

Aldoro Resources has confirmed 262 meters of continuous niobium mineralisation along Line 4 at the Kameelburg Carbonatite, averaging 0.52% Nb₂O₅.

Exceptional surface intercepts include 94 meters at 0.93% Nb₂O₅ and 30 meters at 1.2% Nb₂O₅, with a 150-meter high-grade zone averaging 0.77% Nb₂O₅.

A diamond drilling program is underway to evaluate the niobium grade at depth and further understand the resource potential.

Niobium, classified as a strategic element, trades at US$57,000/tonne, with ore containing 0.15% Nb₂O₅ valued equivalently to 1 gram per tonne of gold.

Atturra (ASX: ATA)

Atturra is expanding into the New Zealand market with the acquisition of managed services provider Morgan Holdco (Plan B) for $18.16 million upfront, plus up to $4.09 million in earn-out payments.

Plan B operates five data centres across New Zealand, serving over 1,000 clients, and will support Atturra’s goal of becoming a leader in managed services and geographical expansion.

The deal, based on a 6.2x EBITDA multiple, aligns with both companies’ shared focus on customer success and is expected to close this week.

Additionally, Atturra is acquiring Melbourne-based Chrome Consulting for $3.6 million to enhance its enterprise content management (ECM) capabilities, further solidifying its leadership in data and integration services.

The week ahead

If there is any such thing as a sure thing, this week’s meeting of the Reserve Bank board should produce a steady as she goes cash rate target of 4.35%, although the comments accompanying the decision will be closely watched.

The past week’s figures showing that Australia’s economy is growing at a very subdued level despite significant government spending is one of those bad news / good news conundrums for markets.

Private sector marking time

Of course, the bad news is that the private sector is virtually marking time and consumers have endured seven quarters of a per capita recession but the hopeful take by traders is that the RBA board will now be forced to stimulate the economy with an interest rate cut by February next year.

There has been little or no sign of that from RBA Governor Michele Bullock who is still focused on Australia’s sticky core inflation rate and strong jobs market.

However traders are betting the RBA will be scared into moving earlier than it had intended.

Will RBA soften?

The press conference after the decision will be closely watched, as will three other speeches by various RBA heavyweights during the week.

The other big economic event for the week should be the MYEFO or mid-year Budget update which will probably show some weakening in the Federal Government’s tax revenue in line with the faltering economy.

Rounding out a busy week will be the release of US inflation numbers that might have some bearing on the continuation of its interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

The European Central Bank is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 3% during the week to stave off concerns about incoming US President Donald Trump’s tariffs which could hit European exports.

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