- ASX puts on one of its better shows of August (+0.68%) as healthcare and tech lead gains
- Bitcoin smashes back through US$80,000 as gold closes in on US$4700/oz
- RBA reveals another rate hike was seriously considered as inflation remains sticky
The ASX put together one of its better efforts of recent weeks on Tuesday, climbing 0.68% as buyers remembered there are stocks outside the resources sector.
Healthcare led a broad rally, the banks remembered which direction green was, and BHP (ASX:BHP) casually wandered off to another record high.
Not everything joined in. Lithium took a kicking, reporting season continued handing out random acts of violence and the RBA minutes confirmed another rate hike remains very much on the menu.
Meanwhile, here’s what else caught our eye today…
- Bitcoin punched through US$80,000 and briefly cleared US$81,000, extending one hell of a comeback from its June lows. Crypto winter appears to have misplaced the keys;
- gold pushed towards US$4700/oz, putting it on track for its best month since 1999. Gold bugs have waited a very long time to become almost as unbearable as Bitcoin bros;
- the RBA revealed it seriously considered another 25bp hike in August, with several board members worried inflation could force its hand. Mortgage holders may resume staring nervously at Wednesday’s CPI print;
- the Aussie dollar was hanging around US71.5c, still near recent three-month highs. Your overseas holiday remains marginally less ruinous;
- US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s bond-buyback plan is copping some friendly fire, including from his old mentor Stanley Druckenmiller;
- BHP hit another record high as copper stayed hot. Another day, another BHP record. We’re running out of ways to write this; and…
- Nvidia reports Wednesday night US time, with the shares already down seven sessions straight. Guess the warm-up act for the world’s most important earnings result is everyone selling the stock?
Oh, and news just in…
Jim Cramer says investors should “sell semis”.$NVDA $MU $INTC $SOXL $AMD bulls rn: pic.twitter.com/JCDGZ7lCi0
— PeloSwing | Options Queen🎯👸🏻 (@PeloSwing) August 24, 2026
Movers and Shakeouts
Tuesday seemed like one of those increasingly rare days when almost everything worked. Even a kransky I burnt, covered in tomato sauce and whacked between two pieces of toast for lunch was pretty good.
Ten of the ASX’s 11 sectors finished higher, led by tech, which jumped 2.21%, while staples gained 1.75% and healthcare continued its monster comeback with another 1.64% rise.
Financials finally joined the fun too, adding 1.02% after spending much of August being repeatedly punched in the face.
Energy was the lone holdout, falling 0.54%, while materials barely moved despite BHP hitting yet another record high.
The Small Ords matched the big end almost stride for stride, gaining 0.68% as the ASX 200 finished up 0.68%.
Reporting season provided the usual extremes.
Coles Group (ASX:COL) gained around 2.8% after its “boringly in line” result came with stronger-than-expected early FY27 sales, while ARB Corporation (ASX:ARB) flew on a better-than-feared result.
At the other end, SiteMinder (ASX:SDR) and Monadelphous Group (ASX:MND) were pummelled, while Nanosonics (ASX:NAN) plunged as much as 25% after its numbers failed to impress – a savage response given it also announced a $40m share buyback.
Our Tim Boreham dug into that one in today’s Health Check.
ASX Leaders
Today’s best-performing stocks (including small caps) intraday:
| Code | Name | Last | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATC | Altech Batt Ltd | 0.002 | 100% | 8664108 | $2,669,056 |
| MHK | Metalhawk. | 0.145 | 53% | 12626105 | $11,722,293 |
| AL3 | Aml3D | 0.135 | 35% | 9176054 | $56,744,578 |
| FCT | Firstwave Cloud Tech | 0.008 | 33% | 13503854 | $12,761,285 |
| AOK | Australian Oil. | 0.0025 | 25% | 1210946 | $4,655,222 |
| DAF | Discovery Alaska Ltd | 0.02 | 25% | 1151415 | $4,133,755 |
| AR3 | Austrare | 0.13 | 24% | 2764175 | $26,970,801 |
| EOS | Electro Optic Sys. | 10.58 | 23% | 8371692 | $1,906,638,593 |
| ALV | Alvomin | 0.023 | 21% | 1238056 | $5,452,731 |
| ICR | Intelicare Holdings | 0.029 | 21% | 9896130 | $17,126,503 |
| ENR | Encounter Resources | 0.27 | 20% | 2390227 | $126,022,434 |
| AAJ | Aruma Resources Ltd | 0.006 | 20% | 1945344 | $4,188,167 |
| BNL | Blue Star Helium Ltd | 0.006 | 20% | 34750 | $30,764,575 |
| RHY | Rhythm Biosciences | 0.105 | 19% | 1019920 | $31,140,283 |
| LGM | Legacy Minerals | 0.125 | 19% | 309870 | $21,012,099 |
| CC9 | Chariotresources Ltd | 0.09 | 18% | 392274 | $17,243,779 |
| MHC | Manhattangoldcorpltd | 0.027 | 17% | 7740427 | $15,880,363 |
| IRD | Iron Road Ltd | 0.0105 | 17% | 48004 | $7,561,735 |
| ADN | Andromeda Metals Ltd | 0.007 | 17% | 9672876 | $27,741,800 |
| OB1 | Orbminco Limited | 0.014 | 17% | 2172625 | $7,092,041 |
| KAL | Kalgoorliegoldmining | 0.029 | 16% | 1342564 | $11,396,754 |
| WOT | Wotso | 0.59 | 16% | 71102 | $81,171,053 |
| IFN | Infragreen Group Ltd | 0.52 | 16% | 271110 | $60,812,582 |
| CCM | Cadoux Limited | 0.03 | 15% | 369938 | $11,888,524 |
| 49M | 49 Metals Limited | 0.115 | 15% | 185188 | $7,022,015 |
ASX Laggards
Today’s worst-performing stocks (including small caps) intraday:
| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1TT | Thrive Tribe Tech | 0.001 | -33% | 694538 | $7,879,928 |
| ZEU | Zeus Resources Ltd | 0.004 | -33% | 57539 | $4,950,313 |
| C7A | Clara Resources | 0.003 | -25% | 2250000 | $8,930,046 |
| RKB | Rokeby Resources Ltd | 0.003 | -25% | 33970960 | $11,906,920 |
| OVT | Ovanti Limited | 0.002 | -20% | 14129302 | $2,867,243 |
| RLG | Roolife Group Ltd | 0.004 | -20% | 5120981 | $11,562,478 |
| XF1 | Xref Limited | 0.056 | -18% | 19211 | $14,966,104 |
| NAN | Nanosonics Limited | 3.05 | -17% | 5485419 | $1,099,992,016 |
| BPH | BPH Energy Ltd | 0.0025 | -17% | 845363 | $4,061,547 |
| COY | Coppermoly Limited | 0.005 | -17% | 785153 | $5,295,945 |
| H3E | H3 Energy Ltd | 0.005 | -17% | 80789 | $8,044,576 |
| MOH | Moho Resources | 0.005 | -17% | 636045 | $6,318,552 |
| HRE | Heavy Rare Earths | 0.046 | -16% | 2111799 | $11,441,864 |
| JAT | Jatcorp Limited | 0.11 | -15% | 2403 | $14,606,338 |
| GED | Golden Deeps | 0.051 | -15% | 245971 | $13,680,428 |
| W2V | Way2Vatltd | 0.047 | -15% | 424450 | $14,356,534 |
| ARV | Artemis Resources | 0.003 | -14% | 2779627 | $20,223,228 |
| EM2 | Eagle Mountain | 0.006 | -14% | 3129 | $10,771,317 |
| NFM | New Frontier | 0.006 | -14% | 224270 | $12,168,075 |
| WHK | Whitehawk Limited | 0.003 | -14% | 16616 | $4,021,483 |
| CHM | Chimeric Therapeutic | 0.013 | -13% | 2466882 | $1,062,528 |
| CF1 | Complii Fintech Ltd | 0.02 | -13% | 251271 | $14,032,947 |
| 1AD | Adalta Limited | 0.0035 | -13% | 198514 | $12,848,676 |
| CR3 | Core Energy Minerals | 0.007 | -13% | 529632 | $5,698,821 |
| IMI | Infinitymining | 0.007 | -13% | 613847 | $4,479,185 |
In Case You Missed It
Black Bear Minerals (ASX:BKB) has readied underground drilling at Shafter aimed at growing its silver resource.
Palisade Metals (ASX:PM1) has grown its Finley Basin footprint ahead of drilling.
Regener8 Resources (ASX:R8R) has used soil sampling to build a bigger exploration picture at Srebrenica North.
SCX.ai (ASX:SCX) has followed its ASX debut with a landmark global AI partnership.
Vertex Minerals (ASX:VTX) has secured approval for round-the-clock underground operations at Reward as it ramps up the NSW gold mine.
Waratah Minerals (ASX:WTM) has extended Consols and uncovered a new shallow high-grade gold zone at its Spur project.
White Cliff Minerals (ASX:WCN) has scaled up the Rae copper project as exploration continues to expand the Canadian system.
Trading Halts
Broken Hill Gold (ASX:BH6) – material exploration results from White Dam
Estrella Resources (ASX:ESR) – ASX price query response and exploration update
Mount Ridley Mines (ASX:MRD) – material scandium resource update
One More Thing…
And finally, today is apparently International Kiss and Make Up Day.
Bitcoin and US$80,000 have done exactly that, reuniting for the first time since May after what can only be described as a fairly toxic few months apart.
Whether they can make the relationship work this time is another matter.
When your $200 in bitcoin becomes $205 overnight pic.twitter.com/Q6EJXSKlho
— Not Jerome Powell (@alifarhat79) August 21, 2026
