ASX turns down; DroneShield soars 10pc, tech stocks weigh
The Australian sharemarket fell by midday Wednesday as investors digested hawkish comments from the Reserve Bank of Australia and awaited a widely expected US Federal Reserve rate cut.
The decision, due before Thursday’s ASX open, follows a hawkish hold from the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday, with governor Michele Bullock signalling that further rate relief is unlikely.
UBS shifted brought forward its expectations on an interest rate hike from the fourth quarter of 2026 to a hike by the second quarter.
The S&P/ASX 200 was down 13.6 points, or 0.2 per cent to 8572.30 at 12.11pm AEDT with nine of the 11 index sectors lower. Losses were led by the tech sector as Nasdaq futures retreated by 0.2 per cent. TechnologyOne fell 1.1 per cent, WiseTech Global by 0.5 per cent and Data#3 by 1.5 per cent.
Materials limited the falls on the ASX with broad gains led by gold miners ahead of the Fed’s decision. Newmont jumped 4 per cent and Northern Star by 3.4 per cent.
Gold miner Ramelius Resources soared 7.4 per cent after it announced up to $250 million in share buybacks and increased its minimum dividend to 2¢ per share per year, as part of its FY26–FY27 capital allocation strategy.
The major banks were mixed as Commonwealth Bank slid 0.7 per cent, Westpac declined by 0.6 per cent and National Australia Bank by 0.2 per cent, while ANZ rose 0.2 per cent.
DroneShield was the market leader at lunch, up 10.3 per cent as retail investors pile into the former sharemarket darling over the past month after a plunge in the defence stock and as hedge funds ramp up bets against the company.
Stocks in focus
Mayne Pharma gained 0.6 per cent as it rejected a notice from Cosette Pharmaceuticals seeking to terminate their scheme implementation deed (SID) following the failure to satisfy the FIRB condition precedent.
4DMedical leapt 8.5 per cent after it confirmed that the University of Miami has commenced clinical use of its CT:VQ respiratory imaging technology, becoming the second US academic medical centre after Stanford to adopt the system.
Symal Group advanced 4.8 per cent as it struck a conditional $28 million deal to acquire Queensland civil contractors Timms Group and L&D Contracting, with completion expected in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026.
TPG Telecom completed the retail component of its non-underwritten reinvestment plan, raising approximately $73.4 million. Shares rose 0.8 per cent.
GQG Partners lost 2.7 per cent after the firm recorded net outflows of $US2.4 billion ($3.6 billion) for November and $US1.8 billion year-to-date. Despite that, funds under management (FUM) of $US166.1 billion as of November 30, up from $US163.7 billion at the end of October.
