ASX snaps win streak; uranium miners dive, silver sinks 12pc

The sharemarket snapped a two-day winning streak on Thursday as volatility continued in the resources sector after silver plunged 15 per cent as it struggled to find a price floor after a historic market rout.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.4 per cent, or by 38.60 points, to 8889.20, with three of the 11 sectors finishing lower.

The heavyweight materials sector was weakest on the ASX after copper fell more than 3 per cent to $US13,044 by the close in Sydney. Silver sank 12.7 per cent to $US77 and gold lost 1.8 per cent to $US4878 an ounce.

Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said the volatility in the metals market was likely to persist after the nomination of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve governor triggered wild price swings.

“When volatility erupts in a market so violently, it takes time for it to become efficient again,” he said. “The fundamentals for the gold and silver market haven’t materially changed. What represents a fair price for gold and silver is open to debate, but this event is about positioning and sentiment.”

On the ASX, investors took profits in BHP, which fell 3.9 per cent to $50.36, offsetting much of a 4.5 per cent bounce in the previous session. Copper and silver miner South32 lost 4 per cent to $4.60 and Sandfire 5.8 per cent to $18.91.

Among the gold miners, Northern Star dived 4.6 per cent to $27.24, Newmont 5.3 per cent to $162.83 and Genesis Minerals 6 per cent to $6.87.

Uranium miners were among the session’s biggest losers after US chipmaker AMD dived 17.3 per cent on Wall Street after its weak guidance dented optimism over AI-led data centre growth and the need for nuclear power. Paladin tumbled 9 per cent to $12.36, Nexgen Energy 9.2 per cent to $16.53 and Deep Yellow 6.4 per cent to $2.50.

Investors instead pivoted back into financials ahead of the reporting season ramping up. Commonwealth Bank advanced 1.4 per cent to $159.28, ANZ 1.4 per cent to $37.58, while insurer QBE and IAG climbed around 2 per cent to $20.16 and $7.85, respectively.

Stocks in focus

In corporate news, Elders dived 4.1 per cent to $7.04 after it appointed Rene Dedoncker as chief executive. He is not expected to take the helm until October as he serves out a six-month notice period at Fonterra.

Neuren Pharmaceuticals fell 9.8 per cent to $13.20 after emerging from a trading halt. Chief executive Jon Pilcher said the company was disappointed to receive only written feedback on NNZ-2591 for hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy and Pitt Hopkins syndrome.

Beach Energy fell 4.4 per cent to $1.20 as oil futures slid 2 per cent and the company declared a 1¢ interim dividend that missed expectations by 50 per cent. It added to concerns about earnings quality following an 8 per cent drop in profit.

Regal Partners rallied 5.1 per cent to $3.07 as it announced a share buy-back program of up to $75 million, due to last for 12 months, beginning on February 25.

Lynas Rare Earths dived 7.9 per cent to $14.74 after US Vice President JD Vance flagged plans for a preferential trade bloc with coordinated price floors for critical minerals, stoking fears that government intervention could cap upside and weaken producers’ pricing power.

That’s a wrap on today’s news. Join us again soon for more live markets news.