ASX Hits Record Highs

The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 3.5% this week, closing out a run of record highs on Wednesday and Thursday as investors looked ahead to a heavy week of company results starting Monday. Renewed Strait of Hormuz tensions also crept back into focus, with Iran threatening to bar US and Israeli ships under a proposed deal with Qatar, pushing Brent crude above US$83 a barrel and weighing on major US benchmarks. Energy was the standout local sector, up 0.6%, while healthcare and financials lagged as banks braced for earnings that will show how loan volumes are holding up. 

This week’s best performers

Minerals 260 (ASX:MI6) +28.81%

The gold explorer climbed after laying out the next phase of work at its Bullabulling Gold Project, split across resource growth, regional exploration and production readiness. The standout was at the Endeavour prospect, where historical drilling has returned intercepts as high as 29 grams per tonne of gold over a metre, backing plans for first-pass drilling along the corridor linking it to the Kraken deposit. The company has also wrapped a 26,000-metre grade control program at its Phoenix deposit, feeding straight into mine planning as it edges closer to production.

DroneShield (ASX:DRO) +28.61%

Last week’s biggest ASX 200 faller is this week’s biggest winner. DroneShield closed July at $1.70, its weakest level in 12 months, after guiding to $250-270 million in FY26 revenue against consensus near $323 million. The bounce back wasn’t triggered by new news, buyers instead reassessed what they already had: committed revenue of $206 million with five months left in the year, and EU production capacity that’s becoming a prerequisite for European defence contracts. Brokers are split, and half-year results on 26 August will settle the debate.

Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX:NEU) +26.22%

Neuren rallied after US partner Acadia posted second-quarter DAYBUE sales of US$125 million, up 30% year on year, prompting Acadia to lift its full-year guidance and Neuren to raise its own royalty forecast to US$53-56 million. Around 40% of DAYBUE patients have now switched to the newer STIX powder formulation, with nearly half of that uptake coming from new or returning patients. A European approval decision, expected soon, would also trigger a US$35 million milestone payment. The stock remains almost entirely dependent on one drug and one partner.

This week’s worst performers

Viva Energy (ASX:VEA) -7.02%

The fuel refiner and retailer dropped as a sharp fall in crude oil prices raised concerns about refining margins and the value of its fuel. Viva sits at a key point in Australia’s fuel supply chain, running the Geelong refinery alongside a large network of fuel and convenience retail sites, leaving it directly exposed when oil prices move. The collapse in crude rippled through the rest of the energy sector too, forcing investors to reassess the outlook for refining margins and fuel earnings more broadly.

Beach Energy (ASX:BPT) -4.95%

Beach Energy fell despite swinging back to profit, FY26 net income of $281.4 million reversed last year’s $43.8 million loss, backed by $890 million of operating cash flow. The dividend was the problem, cut to just 2 cents a share after an earlier 67% interim cut, with the cash instead going toward the Waitsia gas project. Waitsia has only just reached its target production rate of 250 terajoules of gas a day, and a statutory shutdown is already flagged for the year ahead.

Karoon Energy (ASX:KAR) -4.89%

The oil and gas producer fell as crude prices dropped sharply, with Brent slipping to around US$76 a barrel and below US$80. As a pure-play oil producer, Karoon’s share price is tightly geared to crude, so the slide flowed almost straight through to the stock. It wasn’t alone either, the entire energy sector fell 1.93% that day, with larger peers like Woodside, Santos and Beach Energy also caught in the sell-off.