AU Morning Wrap | ASX 200 opens volatile; gold rises to record high

The $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ led the way downward, shedding 155.83 points (0.4%) to 40,368.96, while the $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ gave back 9,34 ticks (0.2%) to 5,396.63. Meanwhile, the $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ lost 8.32 points (0.05%) to 16,823.17.

The $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ fell 0.02% at 7,760.3 by 10.30am. The White House's willingness to make a trade deal with China failed to impress traders due to rising concerns over the global economy, causing volatility in the opening of Australian stocks.

Banking stocks rose, while energy and mining stocks fell. Shares of $Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AU)$ were up 1.1% and $CommBank (CBA.AU)$ edged up 0.3%. $Woodside Energy Group Ltd (WDS.AU)$ and $Santos Ltd (STO.AU)$, two major oil and gas explorers fell more than 1%.

As of the latest data, $Bitcoin (BTC.CC)$ is priced at $83,686.48, decreased 1.16% in the past 24 hours, while $Ethereum (ETH.CC)$ is priced at $1,592.37, fell 2.15% over the previous 24 hours.

In 1H25, $The Star Entertainment Group Ltd (SGR.AU)$ reported a normalized EBITDA loss of A$26.4 million and a 25% revenue drop to A$649.6 million. The company resumed trading today.

$Zip Co Ltd (ZIP.AU)$'s Q3 cash EBITDA surged 219.4% YoY to A$46m, with total transaction value up 35.7% to A$3.3bn. The company has also upgraded its FY25 cash EBITDA guidance to a minimum of A$153m.

$Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (TLX.AU)$'s Illuccix received approval in Sweden and disclosed preliminary data on TLX101 for treating high-grade glioma.

$Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO.AU)$'s Q1 Pilbara iron ore production was 69.8Mt, below the 74Mt consensus.

$Bank of Queensland Ltd (BOQ.AU)$ rose by 3.9%, driven by expectations of higher earnings in the second half, despite global economic uncertainty.

Gold hit a record high due to the Trump administration's actions that could expand the trade war, driving up demand for safe-haven assets. $Evolution Mining Ltd (EVN.AU)$ and $Northern Star Resources Ltd (NST.AU)$ both saw significant gains, with increases of 3.65% and 1.42% respectively.