ASX tops 8100 points; oil gains on MidEast worries, DroneShield sinks

The Australian sharemarket closed at a record level on Thursday, after comments from the US Federal Reserve chairman spurred hopes that the world’s largest central bank will cut rates at its next meeting in September.

The S&P/ASX 200 ended 22.4 points, or 0.3 per cent, higher at 8114.7 points, extending a record high claimed on Wednesday after cooling core inflation in Australia sent a wave of rate relief through equities.

Those hopes were further buoyed overnight on Wednesday, following comments from Fed chairman Jerome Powell that a September rate cut was “on the table” if deflation and economic indicators remained on track.

On the ASX, rate-sensitive real estate stocks were the best performing, up 1.7 per cent. Technology stocks rallied too, following a rebound in the US tech sector, led by Nvidia which gained 13 per cent on Wednesday, after falling more than 15 per cent in July.

Elsewhere, oil extended its rise following the assassination of Hamas’ political chief in Tehran, prompting Iran’s supreme leader to vow revenge on Israel for the attack.

RBC Capital Markets’ head of global commodity strategy, Helima Croft, said the developments edged the region “closer to a wider war”.

“At the very least, the events of the last few days could trigger a dangerous fog-of-war dynamic, where red lines are imperceptible, and the risk of serious miscalculation is magnified,” she said.

“The oil market has largely faded this story, but if the war does spread beyond current borders, we cannot assume that the region’s energy supplies will be safeguarded.”

Brent crude gained 1 per cent to $US81.54 a barrel after adding 2.8 per cent in the previous session. Energy stocks on the ASX rose 1.2 per cent, led by a 1.5 per cent gain in Woodside to $28.02.

In company news, Australia’s competition watchdog said it would not oppose Louis Dreyfus’ proposed acquisition of Namoi Cotton, despite raising concerns earlier this year that the deal could lessen competition in the nation’s cotton-ginning services sector. Shares rose 7.4 per cent higher at 73¢.

Defence tech dealer DroneShield wrapped its $120 million capital raise, priced at $1.15. Shares fell 14.8 per cent to $1.19 after they returned to trading on Thursday.

Bravura Solutions, which supplies back-office software for financial services companies, gained 2.2 per cent to $1.17 after proposing it could return as much as $75.3 million to shareholders.

Payments provider Findi slipped 7.6 per cent to $3.77 after it forecast revenue to grow by as much as 35 per cent in FY25.

Finally, Monadelphous Group fell 4.9 per cent to $12.33, after its contract with Albemarle was terminated as part of the mining giant’s plan to halt its lithium-processing expansion efforts in WA.