The Australian sharemarket is on track for its steepest weekly fall since March, with the S&P/ASX 200 down 1.6 per cent for the week so far and trading at a four-month low by midday Friday. Early optimism from Monday’s rebound faded quickly as stronger US labour data, a hotter-than-expected Australian jobs report and shifting interest rate expectations drove a broad retreat across the index. Tuesday and Wednesday were marked by heavy selling in Commonwealth Bank, following a quarterly profit update that unsettled investors, and renewed weakness across technology stocks. Gains in miners, lithium names and select gold producers at mid-week provided only brief support before sentiment deteriorated again late in the week.
By Friday, losses had spread across all 11 sectors as fears grew that rates in both the US and Australia would remain higher for longer. Tech, banks and major miners were among the hardest hit, with CBA down 11 per cent for the week and heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto also weaker. Rate-sensitive property stocks slipped following Thursday’s labour-market surprise, while gold producers reversed earlier strength as bullion retreated. A handful of lithium names, including Lake Resources and IGO, were the rare bright spots, but not enough to offset the broader decline.
In Friday’s company news,
Trigg Minerals consolidates entire Nevada tungsten district in bid for U.S. critical minerals growth
Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG) has consolidated the entire historical Tennessee Mountain tungsten system in Nevada, unifying the high-grade Little Joe and Gribble prospects with the main Tennessee Mountain mine area and capturing more than 75 historical workings.Historical data indicates both high-grade veins (up to 0.85% WO3) and broader lower-grade tactite mineralisation, suggesting a potentially large bulk-tonnage tungsten system. With ~A$19m in cash, Trigg plans detailed modelling, field verification, and a maiden district-wide drill program to convert historical data into modern JORC-compliant resources.
Magnum Minerals begins drilling high-priority rare earth targets at Azimuth Project in Brazil
Magnum Minerals (ASX:MGU) has commenced first-pass auger drilling over high-priority ionic-clay rare earth targets at its Azimuth REE Project in Brazil, aiming for 333 shallow holes focused on radiometric anomalies thought to indicate REE-bearing clays.The prospects lie near advanced REE deposits such as Appia’s PCH Project and CMOC’s Catalão mine, and have seen no prior exploration. Results from ALS assays are expected in Q1 2026, after which Magnum plans grid drilling and potentially RC drilling to assess thicker clay zones.
Hamelin Gold extends Fremlins mineralisation as Jazz emerges as large gold system
Hamelin Gold (ASX:HMG) reports successful drilling across its West Tanami Project, with aircore drilling at South Fremlins extending near-surface gold mineralisation to more than 400m of strike and intersecting grades above 1g/t gold in several holes. At the Jazz prospect, RC drilling has defined a 500m-long mineralised trend with broad zones of anomalous gold, indicating a large hydrothermal system that remains open in multiple directions. Follow-up drilling and infill programs are planned for 2026 after the wet season.
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Source: Finance News Network
