Friday 31st July 2026
Daily Market Update: 31 July 2026
Miners drag ASX lower as gold exposure trimmed
Australian shares snapped a three-day winning streak on Thursday as traders cut exposure to gold miners amid rising inflationary risks from the Middle East conflict. The S&P/ASX 200 fell 70.90 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 8967.70, having closed at a five-month high on Wednesday after softer inflation all but ruled out a Reserve Bank of Australia rate rise next month. Materials led the drag as gold miners were sold despite bullion steady at $US4054 an ounce. Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG) plunged 7.2 per cent to 90¢ and Genesis Minerals Limited (ASX: GMD) fell 5.7 per cent to $5.65, while heavyweight BHP Group Limited (ASX: BHP) dropped 1.7 per cent to $59.15 and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) rose 1.8 per cent to $168.41.
Energy and tech buck the retreat as financials split
Financials were mixed, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) off 0.2 per cent to $178.25 and National Australia Bank Limited (ASX: NAB) up 0.9 per cent to $41.55 after a 15 per cent quarterly fall in home lending applications. Energy firmed as Woodside Energy Group Limited (ASX: WDS) rose 0.5 per cent to $32.90 and Santos Limited (ASX: STO) gained 0.8 per cent to $7.83, while technology was the sole advancing sector, led by WiseTech Global Limited (ASX: WTC), up 6.7 per cent to $37.89. In company news, Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Limited (ASX: DMP) surged 9.1 per cent to $19.59 on stronger profit guidance despite about $300 million of write-downs, while IperionX Limited (ASX: IPX) dropped 8.4 per cent to $2.83 on a disappointing update.
Wall Street rebounds as chipmakers rally
US indices closed higher on Thursday, rebounding as chipmakers rallied, with the S&P 500 up 1.7 per cent, the Nasdaq 100 up 3.4 per cent and the Dow adding 614 points. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) surged 15.5 per cent on 43 per cent cloud revenue growth, while Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) jumped 18.4 per cent and Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) soared 26 per cent, outweighing a weak forecast from Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META), down 7.9 per cent. Brent crude fell 1.4 per cent to $US91.99 as the US wound up fresh strikes on Iranian military targets.
| Australian Indices | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| ASX 200 | -0.8 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 3.9 | 5.8 |
| Financials | -0.7 | 3.2 | 6.5 | 5.2 | 9.5 |
| Resources | -1.3 | -0.7 | 1.0 | -0.1 | 43.6 |
| Information Technology | -0.8 | 1.5 | -4.5 | 4.8 | -31.8 |
| Global Indices | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| US 500 | 1.7 | -0.5 | -2.1 | 5.7 | 8.4 |
| Europe | 0.2 | 1.7 | 0.1 | 7.3 | 12.4 |
| Japan | 0.1 | -2.4 | -3.2 | 5.0 | 17.9 |
| China top 50 | 1.6 | 4.1 | 14.7 | 4.4 | -8.3 |
| India top 50 | -0.2 | 3.3 | -1.4 | 2.5 | -17.3 |
| Fixed Interest | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| Australian Treasury Bond | -0.4 | 0.1 | -0.9 | 1.7 | 0.1 |
| Australian Corporate Bond | -0.2 | 0.1 | -0.8 | 1.8 | 0.7 |
| US Treasury | -0.3 | -0.1 | -1.3 | -0.4 | 1.8 |
| Cash | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 4.0 |
| Commodities & Crypto | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| Gold | 0.1 | -0.4 | -0.5 | -9.9 | 12.5 |
| Silver | -1.1 | -1.7 | -2.3 | -19.0 | 46.7 |
| Crude Oil | 3.7 | -8.3 | 22.4 | -13.5 | 52.8 |
| Bitcoin | -0.3 | -0.9 | 8.8 | -13.1 | -49.8 |
