Business
ASX 200 Closes Week 2.5% Higher Near Five-Month High as Wall Street Tech Rally Lifts Sentiment Friday
Australia’s benchmark stock index closed narrowly higher Friday, capping a strong week that pushed the S&P/ASX 200 close to a five-month high, as easing domestic inflation and a powerful overnight rally in U.S. technology stocks helped offset a pullback from the session’s earlier highs.
The S&P/ASX 200 finished up 0.10%, adding 9.3 points to close at 8,977.0, trading well below its intraday high after touching gains of as much as 1.03% earlier in the session. The pullback was most pronounced in the materials sector, which surged as much as 3.13% in early trade before easing back to close up 1.49%, part of a pattern of outsized daily swings that has characterized mining and resources stocks over the past eight trading sessions, according to analysis from Marketindex.com.au’s Kerry Sun. Despite the late-session fade, the ASX 200 closed the week 2.5% higher and trading close to a five-month high.
The rally traced its roots to a powerful overnight session on Wall Street. Major U.S. benchmarks pushed higher through the session and finished near their best levels, with the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumping 2.7% to snap a six-day losing streak as investors returned to the artificial intelligence trade that has driven much of the market’s gains over the past year. The S&P 500 climbed 1.66% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.19% in the same session. Microsoft was the standout performer, surging more than 15% and adding roughly $450 billion in market capitalization in a single day, a record one-day gain in dollar value for any publicly traded company. Chipmakers broadly participated in the rebound as well, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gaining 8%.
The overnight strength on Wall Street flowed directly into Australian trading. Futures markets had pointed to a sharply higher open in Sydney, with September SPI futures settling up 77 points, or 0.86%, at 9,012.5 ahead of the local session, after the ASX 200 had ended Thursday’s session 0.78% lower at 8,967.7 points, snapping what had been a winning streak for the index.
Domestic economic data released earlier in the week also contributed to the positive tone across Australian markets. A cooler-than-expected consumer price index reading published Wednesday eased some investor concerns about the pace of future interest rate moves from the Reserve Bank of Australia, adding to a generally constructive backdrop for equities heading into the week’s close.
Commodity markets showed a mixed picture that shaped individual sector performance within the index. Gold prices climbed sharply overnight, with futures rising 1.65% to $4,102.30 an ounce, a move that boosted sentiment toward gold miners including Evolution Mining and Newmont Corporation heading into Friday’s session. Iron ore prices also firmed, aided in part by strike threats affecting BHP Group’s operations, even as underlying demand signals out of China remained comparatively weak. Oil prices moved in the opposite direction, with Brent crude falling 16% since July 23 and closing down 1.88% at $89.03 a barrel in the most recent session, while U.S. crude dropped 1.03% to $83.59, a decline that weighed on energy-focused stocks including Santos and Woodside Energy Group even as both companies have continued to draw some support from concerns about ongoing Middle East shipping risks.
Lithium stocks drew renewed analyst attention during the week following quarterly production updates. Brokerage Bell Potter maintained its speculative buy rating on Vulcan Energy Resources while trimming its price target to $4.50 from $6.10, and held its hold rating on Pilbara Minerals while cutting its target to $4.70 from $6.15. Commenting on Pilbara Minerals specifically, Bell Potter said the company “will generate substantial earnings and cash flow with the restart of the 200ktpa Ngungaju processing plant” at current lithium market prices, while noting that its P2000 and Colina development studies “are being progressed, providing substantial organic growth optionality in markets with strong underlying EV and BESS-led long term demand fundamentals.”
Longer-term bond yields presented a potential headwind for growth-oriented stocks heading into the new trading week. The U.S. 30-year Treasury yield reached its highest level in 19 years during the week, a development that analysts said could constrain further gains in growth-sensitive sectors of the market if the trend continues, even as the immediate market reaction to this week’s data and earnings news remained broadly positive.
With the ASX 200 now trading above levels implied by at least two previously stated year-end forecasts from market strategists, analysts have begun flagging a more complex outlook heading into the second half of the year, noting that earnings expectations for sectors outside of mining and banking have started to tighten even as those two dominant sectors have continued to anchor the index’s overall performance. Wood Mackenzie separately forecast that continued turbulence in Middle East oil markets could help lift global upstream oil and gas free cash flow to $495 billion in 2026, provided Brent crude prices average around $90 per barrel over the course of the year, underscoring how closely tied energy sector earnings outlooks remain to the trajectory of the ongoing geopolitical situation.
With a busy stretch of corporate earnings and economic data still ahead, investors are likely to watch closely whether the current wave of positive momentum from U.S. technology stocks can be sustained into the new trading week, particularly as questions persist about bond yield pressure, energy price volatility and the durability of the artificial intelligence-driven rally that powered Thursday night’s rebound on Wall Street.
An organisation that rescues hundreds of tonnes of surplus food from going to waste wants to expand its work.
Food in Community, a Dartington-based community interest company, has been collecting unwanted and extra crops from local growers and farmers for 14 years in a bid to reduce waste and improve access to sustainably produced food.
The food is packed into boxes for free doorstep deliveries to people, with any leftover produce given to food banks, community fridges, lunch clubs and youth groups.
The group, who work mainly in Devon but also send items to Cornwall, said it wanted to work with more farmers, volunteers and business partners in a bid to save more food.
Chantelle Norton, a director at Food in Community, said research done by World Wide Fund for Nature and Tesco in 2022, external estimated 2.9 million tonnes of edible food is lost or wasted annually every year on UK farms.
Business
Multibagger Astra Microwave shares rally 14% to 52-week high after Rs 2,205 crore order win from HAL
Shares of the company surged to a fresh 52-week high of Rs 1,960 apiece on Friday morning, with the stock on track to record its sharpest single-day rally in more than four years. The stock has skyrocketed more than 130% in just four months since hitting a 52-week low of Rs 851 apiece at the end of March this year.
Astra Microwave Products announced that it has received an order for the procurement of 122 AAAU and 121 interface frames for Uttam Radar from PSU major HAL for a total consideration of Rs 2,205.23 crore, inclusive of all applicable taxes and GST. The domestic order is scheduled to be executed within five years.
Notably, this single order win is almost equal to the company’s entire order book of Rs 2,610 crore as of March 31, 2026. The significant order win boosted investor sentiment, sparking the sharp rally in the multibagger stock.
Astra Microwave share price
Astra Microwave shares have jumped around 8% in a week, 11% in a month, and are up nearly 100% in 2026 so far. The stock has surged around 104% in the past one year.
In the longer term, Astra Microwave shares have rallied 422% in three years and a whopping 1,041% in five years.
Also read | Astra Microwave Q4 results
Astra Microwave demerger
Earlier this year, Astra Microwave announced that its board granted in-principle approval to demerge its space, meteorology and hydrology business into a separate entity, aiming to enable sharper management focus and improved operational efficiency. The company expects to complete the demerger by Q1 FY28.In an exchange filing, the defence electronics player said the move involves the creation of Astra Space Technologies Private Limited, an independent company exclusively dedicated to its space, meteorology and hydrology business verticals. The new entity is expected to adopt tailored growth strategies and capital allocation frameworks aligned with the sector’s specific requirements.
The company added that the demerger would help broaden its investor base by offering distinct investment propositions, while also reducing structural complexity and enhancing transparency. The restructuring is aimed at improving oversight, governance and overall accountability.
However, the demerger will require a string of approvals before coming into effect. These include final approval from the board of directors, shareholders, creditors and stock exchanges, along with NCLT sanction and other regulatory clearances.
Also read |Astra Microwave to demerge space, meteorology & hydrology biz into a separately listed entity
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
As more Americans bristle at the idea of paying $50,000 on average for a new car, Carvana CVNA is capitalizing on the growing demand for used cars.
The online used-car retailer Wednesday reported record sales and profit in the second quarter. Carvana said it sold about 197,000 vehicles—up nearly 40% year-over-year—with a profit of $310 million, up from $183 million a year earlier. Revenue also rose 52% to $7.38 billion.
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Why is Telus stock sliding today?
Business
Vedanta Aluminium share price target: Why Citi, CLSA, Nuvama see up to 20% upside after Q1 earnings
Vedanta Aluminium Metal, which debuted on stock exchanges last month after spinning out of Vedanta during the mega demerger, saw its share price rise nearly 2% on Friday morning to trade at Rs 465 apiece after the company on Thursday reported a 46% YoY surge in revenue from operations to Rs 21,393 crore during the April-June quarter of FY27.
Vedanta Aluminium’s total income rose more than 46% YoY to Rs 21,702 crore, while total expenses increased over 7.5% YoY to Rs 12,870 crore during the quarter under review. Vedanta Aluminium’s net profit margin more than doubled to 31% in Q1 FY27 from 15% in Q1 FY26, while its operating profit margin improved to 45% from 26% in the corresponding quarter last year. The company’s net worth surged more than 86% YoY to Rs 30,441 crore at the end of the first quarter.
Along with its Q1 results, Vedanta Aluminium Metal announced its first interim dividend of Rs 8 per share on a face value of Re 1 for FY27. The company has fixed August 5 (Wednesday) as the record date to determine shareholders’ eligibility for the dividend.
Also read | Vedanta Aluminium Q1 Results: Net profit soars 3x YoY to Rs 5,629 crore; Rs 8/share dividend declared
CLSA on Vedanta Aluminium share price
CLSA maintained its ‘Outperform’ rating on the shares of Vedanta Aluminium, with a target price of Rs 540 apiece, implying more than 18% upside potential from the stock’s previous closing price of Rs 457.05 apiece on NSE.
The international brokerage said that the company’s Q1 performance came in largely in line with estimates, with cost of production falling by $20 per tonne despite the impact of the Middle East conflict. Key projects (capacity expansion guidance and coal and bauxite mine commissioning) were largely on track, which could drive $175-200 per tonne in cost savings, it added.
Citi on Vedanta Aluminium share price
Citi has a ‘Buy’ call on the shares of Vedanta Aluminium, with a target price of Rs 525 apiece, implying around 15% upside potential. It said that the company’s EBITDA was 4% ahead of estimates.
This came on the back of rising aluminium prices and lower costs.
Nuvama on Vedanta Aluminium share price
Nuvama has a ‘Buy’ call on the stock with a target price of Rs 540 apiece. The brokerage highlighted that the firm’s Q1 EBITDA was in line with estimates, driven by higher aluminium prices and lower cost of production.“We expect Q2 FY27 EBITDA to be 5-8% lower QoQ due to lower aluminium price and higher CoP, partly offset by higher volume. Start of its captive bauxite and coal mine in H2 FY27 is likely to reduce its hot metal CoP below $1,600/t in FY28,” it added.
Emkay on Vedanta Aluminium share price
Emkay said Vedanta Aluminium delivered a strong Q1 FY27 earnings print, reporting record-high EBITDA, broadly in line with estimates and driven by firmer aluminium prices and sustained cost discipline.
“We believe the medium-term cost reduction story is intact, supported by higher captive alumina integration, commencement of captive bauxite and coal mines, and the BALCO expansion, which should drive margin expansion. Q2 earnings are likely to soften sequentially due to cost-related headwinds, the lower Al prices, and the impact of hedges, these should be partly offset by higher BALCO volumes,” the brokerage said.
Emkay has a ‘Buy’ call on the shares of Vedanta Aluminium, with a target price of Rs 550 apiece, implying an upside potential of more than 20% from the stock’s previous closing price.
Vedanta Aluminium share price
Vedanta Aluminium was the only large-cap stock among the four companies spun off from Vedanta under its mega demerger and debuted in June. It debuted at Rs 522 apiece on the NSE, surpassing its parent company in terms of market capitalisation.
The shares have gained around 6% in one week and 3% in a month, but are overall down more than 7% since listing.
Also read | Vedanta share price target: Why brokerages see up to 24% upside after Q1 earnings?
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
Oil choppy as Hormuz tanker traffic improves despite ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict
China inspects Chery, Nio and JAC for vehicle safety compliance
Microsoft MSFT reported robust cloud growth and a boost in the number of paid artificial-intelligence subscribers, as investors remain fixated on whether the tech giant’s data-center spending will pay off.
Microsoft’s revenue rose 18% to $90 billion in the quarter ended in June, a sign that the company’s AI-revenue growth is accelerating and that it will continue to spend on data centers.
Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
France and Spain win some respite, as wildfire battles rage across Europe
Meredith’s DIY Hardware and Ironmongery has been at Yate Shopping Centre, near Bristol, since 1965.
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