ASX rebounds after sharp plunge a day before; miners and Insignia’s $3.3 billion takeover news power stock market’s rise

The Australian share market rose on Tuesday (July 22, 2025), helped by mining and gold stocks. The development in shares came as investors awaited minutes of the central bank's latest policy meeting for rate cues. The Insignia Financial jumped after agreeing to an A$3.3 billion takeover bid.

The S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.3% to 8,692.5 by 0030 GMT, after closing 1% lower on Monday (July 21, 2025). The fall witnessed on Monday was the sharpest one-day fall since the fallout from Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” smashed markets in early April, 2025. The investors sold down their shares in the big four banks ahead of the company's results.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is set to release the minutes of its July policy meeting today (Tuesday, July 22, 2025), where it may offer some insights into a rare split among policymakers before deciding to hold interest rates steady at 3.85%. A surprisingly soft jobs report that came out earlier in July 2025 has seen markets move to price a 90% chance that the central bank will cut rates next month.

How miners led the change in ASX

On the resource-heavy bourse, miners led the charge with a 2.4% rise, after iron ore futures closed higher overnight. Top miners BHP and Rio Tinto climbed 2.5% and 2.2%, respectively, while Fortescue advanced 2.1%.

Gold stocks gained 3.1% after bullion prices hit a five-week high overnight. Gold miner Northern Star Resources rose 2.7%, while Genesis Minerals advanced 5.7%. Limiting the benchmark index's gain, financials slipped 0.6%, while energy stocks declined 0.7%, tracking weakness in oil prices.

Among individual stocks, Insignia Financial jumped 16% after the wealth manager agreed to an A$3.3 billion ($2.15 billion) takeover by investment manager CC Capital Partners. Champion Iron advanced 4.6% after the company said Nippon Steel and Sojitz Corp. would invest an initial C$245 million ($179.08 million) in its Kami iron ore project in Canada for an aggregate 49% interest.

Big four banks brought ASX down

The benchmark ASX 200 plunged 89 points, or 1.02 percent, to 8,668.20. The massive drop came just one trading day after the benchmark enjoyed its strongest gains since the mid-April recovery. Even with Monday’s sizeable declines, the ASX 200 still finished at its second-highest close on record. According to media reports, banks, consumer discretionary, and property stocks led the declines, with the market's heavy financials slumping 2.51 percent.

Out of the four banks, Westpac was the hardest hit, down 3.61 percent to $33.07, while CBA slumped 2.52 percent to $177.87, ANZ sank 2.50 percent to $30.05, and NAB dropped 2.40 percent to $38.25.