Thursday 29th January – ASX 200 down 6 – BHP and RIO rescue rally – Golds up – IT down as usual – Critical metals under pressure

29 Thursday Jan 2026

Posted by in Daily Reports

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ASX 200 fell 6 points to 8928 as iron ore stocks rallied into the close. The turn in BHP and RIO helped on a bump higher in iron ore. Gold miners were strong but not getting carried away. NST up 3.1% and NEM up 2.6% which considering the bullion price went nuts again, shows maybe some short-term fatigue. Uranium stocks were patchy too given the big move to US$100lb in spot prices, PDN only up 1.4% and DYL leading the charge, up 12.4%. Critical metal and rare earths stocks were walloped on unconfirmed reports that the US is abandoning its idea of a floor price. LYC fell 3.7% and ILU dropped 14.1% as impairments didn’t help there either. Lithium stocks under pressure too, IGO down 5.8% on production report, LTR fell 4.2% on a bond to equity conversion, MIN dropped 3.8%. Oil and gas doing very little. Meanwhile banks were mixed, CBA off 1.1% and the Big Bank Basket down to $266.66 (-0.7%). Financials were mixed too, ZIP fell 3.8% on the strong AUD, given most of its earnings are in USD now. Healthcare stumbled around in casualty, RMD down 1.1% on USD weakness, CSL the same applies off 0.4% and tech got smashed again. WTC down 2.1% and XRO heading that way, off another 3.1%. The All-Tech Index dropped 1.8%. Industrials slid, BXB down 2.6% and QAN off 2.1%. REITs also under pressure. That kind of day.

In corporate news, APX jumped 30.6% as revenue rose to $73.4m. AMP fell 4.6% after some accountancy tweaking. QUB saw Macquarie extend its DD to Feb 15th.  Plenty of quarterlies to keep everyone on their toes. GMD announced some management changes along with production guidance.

Asian markets are mixed, with Japan up 0.2%, HK up 0.5%, China down 0.1% with Indonesia falling hard again on a GS downgrade.

US Futures firm, Nasdaq up 60, Dow down 61 – Gold hits record.

10-year yields steady at 4.83%

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Winners: DYL, IMR, SRL, TVN, MLX, ASX, FML
  • Losers: ILU, DTR, EUR, OBM, GLN, MTM, DRO
  • Positive Sectors:  Iron ore. Gold. Uranium.
  • Negative Sectors: Banks. Tech. REITs. Industrials. Critical metals and rare earths.
  • ASX 200 Hi 8928 Lo 8859
  • Big Bank Basket: Lower at $266.66 (-0.7%)
  • All-Tech Index: Down 1.8% Again.
  • Gold: Flies to $7803!
  • Bitcoin: Steady at US$88270
  • AUD: Soars to 70.89c.
  • Asian markets mixed Japan up 0.2%, HK up 0.5%, China down 0.1%  

MARKET MOVERS

  • DYL +12.4% uranium soaring.
  • SRL +10.0% volatility continues.
  • MLX +7.6% quarterly report.
  • ASX +7.5% broker upgrade.
  • BGL +5.9% gold price rise.
  • GMD +3.6% strong quarterly and management changes.
  • BOE +3.5% broker research.
  • OBM -13.4% quarterly.
  • EUR -13.6% critical metals falls.
  • ILU -14.1% impairments
  • MEI -8% Rare earths under pressure.
  • DRO -9.1% more selling
  • PLS -4.6% lithium under pressure.
  • BOC -9.6% copper sell off.
  • Speculative Stock of the Day:  APX +30.6% A blast from the past. Quarterly activities report and investor presentation.  

ECONOMIC AND OTHER NEWS

  • Tesla trims car line-up in pivot to AI as annual revenue falls for first time.
  • Indonesian stocks collapsed again after MSCI warning. Goldman Sachs downgrades.
  • Chinese humanoid robot company LimX Dynamics is in talks with U.S. business partners.
  • Trump officials met group pushing Alberta independence from Canada.
  • OpenAI nearing $40bn in investments from Nvidia, Amazon and Microsoft. The round robin continues.
  • SK Hynix overtook Samsung in operating profit in 2025 for the first time, driven by its dominance in AI memory chips.
  • Nearly 60 British businesses and cultural organizations will join U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer on his trip to China this week.
  • Ford’s move to expand ties with China battery giant CATL angers US lawmakers.

And finally….

Clarence

XXXX

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