Wednesday 4th February – ASX 200 jumps 71 – Banks and BHP/RIO drive gains – Gold shines – Tech wrecked!

04 Wednesday Feb 2026

Posted by in Daily Reports

≈ Leave a comment

ASX 200 rallied 71 points to 8928 (0.8%) throughout the day as banks and resources rose in tandem. Tech was shattered again with the All-Tech Index down 7.1%. BHP rose 4.5% to be #1 again as copper bounced back and held gains. RIO up 4.3% and FMG managed a 1.7% rise. Gold miners too bounced back hard as bullion sprinted back over $5000. NST up 6.2% and NEM up 4.3%. Uranium stocks also in demand, NXG up 2.8% and LOT gaining 7.9%. Both STO and WDS rallied hard on crude price rises. Copper stocks were also firm, SFR up 1.2% and CSC rising 3.4%. Lithium a little depressed. PLS down 1.8%.

Banks were hot, CBA jumped 2.6% and WBC up 1.5% with the Big Bank Basket up to $277.95 (%). MQG dipped 1.4% and financials fell, ZIP down 9.0% and NWL falling 7.8%. Industrials fell, JBH dropped 1.9% and ALL off 2.8%. Healthcare fell, RMD off 1.6% and COH down 2.5%. Tech was massacred with WTC down 10.7%, XRO smashed 15.9% after an investor day, TNE off 10.5% and 360 off 5.9%.

In corporate news, YAL jumped 9.0% amidst Chinese coal demand. AMC rose 3.5% after reaffirming guidance. NEU in a trading halt pending an FDA announcement on NNZ-2591.

Nothing on the economic front.

Asian markets eased, Japan down 0.9%, China up 0.1% and HK down 0.2%

US Futures slightly higher, Nasdaq down 20, Dow up 58

10-year yields steady at 4.86%

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Winners: NMG, YAL, MI6, EQR, LOT, MTM, PDI, SLX
  • Losers: XRO, NXL, HUB, WTC, TNE, NWS, ZIP, WEB
  • Positive Sectors:  Banks. Oil and gas. Uranium. Iron ore and copper. Gold miners.
  • Negative Sectors: REITs. Financials. Tech. Retail. Lithium.
  • ASX 200 Hi 8944 Lo 8833
  • Big Bank Basket: Soars to $277.95
  • All-Tech Index: Down 7.1% Again.
  • Gold: Firms to $7233
  • Bitcoin: Falls to US$75001!
  • AUD: Steady at 70.23c.
  • Asian markets eased, Japan down 0.8%, China off 0.2% and HK down 0.4%

MARKET MOVERS

  • YAL +9.0% coal in favour.
  • ASM +12.9% No announcements.
  • SLX +6.7% uranium bounce.
  • LOT +7.9% uranium powering ahead.
  • GGP +5.7% NST +6.2% gold back.
  • MTM +7.4% Cleansing notice.
  • XRO -15.9% sure heading that way.
  • 4DX – 8.7% tech rout.
  • TNE -10.5% sorry Rudi.
  • WTC -10.7% tech rout.
  • DRO -6.5% tech rout.
  • ETM -7.4% Greenland, anyone?
  • MAQ -7.1% no volume.
  • HCH -7.2% placement weighs.
  • WBT -6.3% profit taking in chips.
  • Speculative Stock of the Day: VR1 +26.7% buyers back after order.

ECONOMIC AND OTHER NEWS

  • Australia is weighing a price floor for critical minerals, including rare earths, to help its producers counter China’s dominance and draw foreign investment to build new mines and processing projects.
  • The nation, holder of the fourth-largest rare earth reserves, is among countries weighing a minimum price for the critical minerals.
  • Chinese new individual investor accounts rose to 4.9m last month, according to Shanghai Stock Exchange data. That’s the highest since 6.8m accounts opened in October 2024.
  • Copper managed to hold on to big gains as buy the dip rules. The China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association forecast that the country’s refined copper output would rise about 5% this year, following a 10% surge in 2025.
  • Nintendo shares sink 10% as gaming giant faces memory shortage concerns
  • Fed’s Stephen Miran resigns from White House post.
  • ‘Muskonomy’ shakeup: SpaceX valuation nears Tesla’s after merger with xAI . The xAI and SpaceX merger is the biggest of all time.
  • Nvidia AI chip sales to China stalled by US security review .

And finally….

Clarence

XXXXX

Previous articles