CommSec

[REPORT] Week Ahead: Aussie inflation reports in focus alongside US central bank decision and megacap earnings results commsec.com.au/content/dam/EN… #ausecon

Here are the best and worst performing #ASX200 stocks this week.

Market Close: Miners give back gains youtu.be/AhG8M2b4jmU

Aussie shares pulled back for a second straight session with the #ASX200 losing 43pts or 0.5% to 8,667. Seven of 11 sectors lost ground. Miners (-1.7%) weighed most followed by banks while energy stocks (+1.8%) jumped.

[REPORT] Week Ahead: Aussie inflation reports in focus alongside US central bank decision and megacap earnings results commsec.com.au/content/dam/EN… #ausecon

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.5% to 8,664.00 on Friday, weighed by banks and miners. The energy sector was a notable exception, with a sub-gauge advancing more than 1%. The Australian benchmark is on track for a 1.1% weekly decline.

The Australian share market is falling by 35pts or 0.4% as miners give back gains from earlier in the week. 9 of 11 sectors are retreating. Only energy and healthcare are modestly higher.

Morning Report: #SP500 and #Nasdaq notch record closes, lifted by Alphabet $GOOGL. youtu.be/dsSLBQP8ITU

Australian shares are set to open lower on Friday, likely weighed by mining and gold stocks tracking a slide in underlying prices, with investors eyeing US tariff talks with trade partners. The local share price index futures fell 0.5%.

The bullion rally helped Newmont cushion an 8% fall in gold production to 1.48 million ounces in the second quarter. Meanwhile, all-in-sustaining costs for gold, an industry metric reflecting total expenses, rose nearly 2% to $1,593 per ounce.

In the second quarter, gold prices averaged at US$3,220.58 per ounce, nearly 40% above levels seen a year earlier. Newmont's average realized price for gold was at US$3,320 per ounce, compared with US$2,347 a year ago.

Newmont $NEM.N surpassed Wall Street expectations for second-quarter profit as the world's top gold miner benefited from a rally in bullion prices, sending its shares 4% higher in extended trading on Thursday.

Whitehaven $WHC reported a total managed ROM coal production of 10.6 million tons for the three months ended June 30, compared to 9.7 million tons posted a year ago.

Prices were hurt by trade uncertainties including US tariffs, discounted Chinese steel exports and re-traded volumes in the seaborne metallurgical coal market, the miner said.

Operations in NSW - which consist of the Maules Creek, Narrabri and Gunnedah open-cut mines - also delivered an uptick in production. However, the company earned A$189 per ton of coal sold during the quarter, compared to an average realized price of A$238 per ton a year earlier.

The country's top independent coal producer's Queensland operations, which include the Blackwater and Daunia mines, logged an over 17% increase in managed run-of-mine (ROM) coal production to 5.6 million metric tons.

Australia's Whitehaven Coal $WHC reported an almost 9% rise in production for the fourth quarter on Friday, owing to resilient performance across operations in Queensland and New South Wales.

S&P/ASX 200 Index futures fell 0.4% to 8,637 as of Friday. The S&P 500 eked out a gain while notching another record. Alphabet's results showed solid demand for artificial intelligence, bolstering confidence in the technology that has powered the bull market. #ausecon

In Australia on Friday, Newmont and Whitehaven Coal release quarterly updates. US data on durable goods orders are scheduled. Aon, Centene and Charter Communications all issue earnings results. #ausecon

Iron ore futures rose by US31 cents or 0.3% to US$98.58 a tonne on Thursday, as investors assessed higher seaborne supplies against a brighter demand outlook in top importer China. #ausecon