ASX Market Update August 7
The Australian Stock Exchange has closed mixed today on Thursday, 7 August, as the Australian share market edged up today with the ASX 200 rising by 1.7 points, or 0.02 percent, to 8,664. The index previously plunged during the session by up to 0.63 percent, to 8,607. The session ended sideways, showing how cautious the market was despite the good results posted by the materials sector, ASX gains.
Source: TradingView
The ASX miners’ performance in August 2025 contributed significantly to the rise of the index, despite intraday losses. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index rose 3.0% on the day, totaling 7.1% over the last eight days. The wider market is trending around record highs, with catalysts like the US jobs report and the local earnings season on the radar of the traders.
Miners Surge Following Diggers & Dealers Forum
Investors rotated out of banks and industrials and into Australian mining stocks August 2025, with the move largely attributed to renewed optimism following the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in Kalgoorlie. This three-day event, which ended on 6 August, attracted considerable interest in gold and lithium miners.
Westgold Resources’ share price jumped 4.89% to $2.89 after releasing its FY26 production guidance, forecasting 345,000 to 385,000 ounces of gold. Vault Minerals ASX update showed a gain of 1.85% to $0.41, despite no news announcements. The Company presented during the opening session of the forum, contributing to heightened interest.
Other mining names saw broader gains, supported by a rebound in commodity prices. Iron ore rose to a three-week high at US$95.65 per tonne, lifting heavyweight miners across the board.
Major Resource Stocks Lead Gains
BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue are also heavyweights, and they all gained. BHP soared upward by 5.2 to half a trillion dollars and broke the record of the safe days in 2025. Fortescue rose 1.5 percent and Rio Tinto rose 0.4 percent. The actions were made as a result of iron ore pricing recovering, and hopes of Chinese policy help.
The lithium futures increased by 5.2 percent to the advantage of Lithium producers. Pilbara managers jumped 11.3 percent to 1.53 and Mineral Resources increased 7.5 percent. Liontown Resources, which is listed on the ASX, gained 6.8 %. All this was captured in the ASX mining industry news where the resources emerged as the best-performing sector.
Gold miners followed the increase in the price of gold to US$3,345 per tonne and boasted of renewed interest due to the safe-haven motives and a less appealing world-macro skin.
Retail and Energy Sectors Support Broader Market
Outside of resources, supermarket chains also supported the market. Coles rose by 1.7% and Woolworths by 1.3%, showing defensive strength. Energy stocks also performed well. Beach Energy advanced 3.5% after reporting earnings and announcing a higher dividend.
Endeavour Group added 3.7% despite another leadership shake-up. The beverage and retail Company posted a modest earnings update, which was well received by investors seeking stable returns.
Meanwhile, Domino’s Pizza shares bounced 2.7% following a sharp 15.8% drop earlier in the week triggered by the resignation of CEO Mark van Dyck.
Banks Weigh Down the Index
The ASX miners performance August 2025 occurred alongside continued weakness in financial stocks. Commonwealth Bank fell 2.1% and has now lost 6.1% over the last six sessions. ANZ was down 1.6%, while Macquarie slipped 0.3%.
Judo Capital fell 2.6% following recent volatility, even as some brokers maintained optimistic long-term growth projections.
This rotation out of banks into miners has drawn attention, with several analysts tracking a pattern of inverse performance between CBA and BHP.
Broader Market Holds Near Record Levels
Despite volatility, the ASX 200 today continues to trade near historical highs. Market participants remain cautious ahead of Friday’s US non-farm payrolls data and further local corporate results.
As the resources sector enjoyed strength in the charts, historical breakouts of the Materials Index on above its 200-day moving average have not guaranteed the continuation of the upside. Investors are on the look out to find signs to prove that the broader outlook is reversing.
Broker Activity and Stock Debuts
Several broker updates affected trading. Westgold Resources and Vault Minerals received buy ratings with targets of $3.50 and $0.48, respectively. Meanwhile, new listing Gemlife Communities debuted strongly, opening 5.2% higher at $4.38.
Other notable moves included Pro Medicus, which gained over 12% after securing a $170 million, 10-year contract with UCHealth in the US. The stock reached a record high of $312 during the session.
Market Outlook
Performance of the ASX miners August 2025 was the key mover in a general dead session. The robust advance of gold and lithium stocks and revived interest in iron ore just gave the boost required to counteract losses in financials. The resources sector received support by virtue of heavyweight mining stocks, like BHP and Pilbara Minerals, which paved the way towards capitalising on the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index above the 200-day moving average.
As the ASX 200 still trades close to a new high, the attention of the investors will be focused on the macroeconomic triggers in the future. These are the US non-farm payrolls on Friday and the Australian earnings season, both of which may act as a short term sentiment indicator. The current sector rotation out of banks and into miners could be extended in case commodity prices remain high and expectations of the monetary policy changes to move towards a cut in interest rates. There will, however, be close monitoring by market participants of indicators of whether the resource rally could be anything other than a fleeting venture.
