After staying in red territory all session, the ASX 200 ended up finishing down 0.23%. That leaves the index at 8,766.4 points.

This rather depressing start to the Australian trading week comes after a more nuanced end to the American trading week on Friday night (our time).

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) was in the same mould as the ASX, dropping 0.16%.

However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) fared far better, roaring 1.63% higher.

But let's get back to this week and our local markets now, and check out what was happening amongst the different ASX sectors this Monday.

Winners and losers

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

After spending the entire session in red territory, the ASX 200 ended up closing down a nasty 1.18%. That leaves the index at 8,843.6 points at this mid-week point.

Today's unhappy performance from the Australian markets follows a similarly negative night up on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) closed down 0.59% after initially rising during morning trading.

In a rare coincidence, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) also finished up with a 0.59% loss.

But let's return to the local markets now and dive a little deeper into how today's pessimism filtered down into the various ASX sectors.

Winners and losers

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Ora Banda shares closed yesterday trading for $1.56. In early morning trade on Tuesday, shares are changing hands for $1.59 apiece, up 1.7%.

For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.2% at this same time.

This outperformance follows an update on the miner's ongoing drilling campaign at its Waihi Project, located in Western Australia.

Here's what we know.

ASX 200 gold stock lifts on drill results

In January, Ora Banda kicked off a 22 hole exploratory drill program at Waihi, close to the historical Golden Pole mine.

The ASX 200 gold stock said the "exceptional high-grade drill results" from this program have accelerated Golden Pole's inclusion in an updated Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve Estimate for Waihi.

Ora Banda aims to complete the new estimates in the June quarter.

The Waihi deposit is located three kilometres from Ora Banda's Davyhurst processing plant. The miner is targeting Waihi as a potential third underground mine.

Management said that the targeted infill and extensional drilling on Waihi's Golden Pole Lode has confirmed its mining potential.

Ora Banda reported top results from one hole of 3.0 metres at 44.0 grams of gold per tonne, including 2.0 metres at 64.6 grams of gold per tonne.

A second hold returned 11.3 meters at 10.5 g/t AU, including 2.0 metres at 48.2 g/t AU.

Golden Pole has a rich history, which the ASX 200 gold stock aims to rekindle. From 1900 to 1939, the gold mine produced 81,000 tonnes at 29.6 g/t Au for some 77,000 ounces of gold.

Ora Banda noted that extensions to the Golden Pole mineralised system were "poorly drill tested" by previous operators, which the miner said provides it with a significant follow-up opportunity.

What did Ora Banda management say?

Commenting on the drill results helping boost the ASX 200 gold stock today, Ora Banda managing director Luke Creagh said:

These excellent drill results build on the rapidly growing body of work at Waihi and we're moving to incorporate these into an updated Waihi underground Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve Estimate scheduled for release this quarter.

At Waihi, we are once again seeing the rapid transition of an exploration target into a potential near-term development, highlighting both the excellent organic growth opportunities on the tenement package plus the outstanding ability of our teams to discover and develop these opportunities.

Ora Banda share price snapshot

With today's intraday gains factored in, shares in the ASX 200 gold stock are up 32.5% over 12 months, and up 148.4% since the recent closing lows on 1 August.

The post Guess which ASX 200 gold stock is lifting off today on 'exceptional high-grade' results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back today are listed below. Here's why they are charging higher:

AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP)

The AMP share price is up 4% to $1.45. Investors have been buying the financial services company's shares following the release of a first-quarter update. AMP reported a 45% growth in Platforms net cashflows to $1.1 billion and improved Superannuation & Investments (S&I) net cash outflows down to $80 million. The latter is a 26% year-on-year improvement. Another positive is news that AMP will be undertaking a $150 million on-market share buyback.

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

The Life360 share price is up almost 9% to $1.44. This is despite there being no news out of the location technology company on Thursday. However, it is worth noting that a number of ASX tech shares are rebounding today following a positive night on the tech-focused Nasdaq index. The gains have been so strong that the S&P ASX All Technology index is up a sizeable 3.7% at the time of writing.

Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL)

The Netwealth share price is up 4.5% to $24.93. This follows the release of the investment platform provider's third-quarter update this morning. Netwealth revealed a 20.9% increase in funds under administration (FUA) to $125.8 billion. This was underpinned by FUA net inflows of $7.6 billion for the quarter. Looking ahead, it expects FUA net flows to be largely in line with what was recorded in FY 2025, along with an EBITDA margin of 49%.

Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX: OBM)

The Ora Banda Mining share price is up a sizeable 11% to $1.46. The catalyst for this has been the release of a production update from the gold miner this morning. The company reported record quarterly production of 38,766 ounces of gold, which is up 21% quarter on quarter. Ora Banda Mining's managing director, Luke Creagh, said: "The team has done an outstanding job with the ramp-up of operations during FY26 with this quarter showing a 21% increase in ounces produced over the December period which has delivered $76.3 million in free cash flow after substantial investments into future growth projects."

The post Why AMP, Life360, Netwealth, and Ora Banda shares are racing higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold stock closed yesterday trading for $1.315. In early morning trade on Thursday, shares are changing hands for $1.375 apiece, up 4.6%.

For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.1% at this same time.

Taking a step back, Ora Banda shares have gained 19% in 12 months. And investors who stepped in and bought the dip at the 1 August closing price of 64 cents a share will now be sitting on gains of 114.9%.

Here's what's piquing ASX investor interest today.

Ora Banda shares surge on record production

Ora Banda shares are jumping higher today following the release of the ASX 200 gold stock's March quarterly update (Q3 FY 2026).

The three months saw the miner achieve an all-time high quarter production of 38,766 ounces of gold. That's up 21% quarter on quarter.

Ora Banda sold 38,637 ounces of gold in Q3, bringing its FY 2026 total gold sales to 101,200 ounces.

One headwind for Ora Banda shares is the miner's elevated production costs. The company reported an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $3,612 per ounce of gold sold. Management said this was largely driven by the increased cost of third-party processing. They added that studies towards building a new standalone 3 million tonne per annum (mtpa) processing plant are advancing. They expect to announce a decision on the standalone plant in the June quarter.

Core achievements over the March quarter included an updated 1.3 million ounce Mineral Resource for the miner's Round Dam project.

With free cash flows of $76.3 million over the three months, Ora Banda held a closing cash balance of $231.7 million at the end of the quarter, up 49% from 31 December.

What did management say?

Commenting on the results helping boost the Ora Banda share price today, managing director Luke Creagh said:

The team has done an outstanding job with the ramp-up of operations during FY26 with this quarter showing a 21% increase in ounces produced over the December period which has delivered $76.3 million in free cash flow after substantial investments into future growth projects.

Over the quarter, Ora Banda spent $52.5 million on capital projects, resource development, and exploration.

Creagh noted:

Our exploration activities continue to deliver outstanding results including high grade intercepts from Golden Pole, discoveries at Little Gem (Sapphire Trend) and the release of a significant 1.3 Moz Mineral Resource for Round Dam.

These have been made possible through the company's $73 million FY26 investment into exploration and resource development across the Davyhurst Project.

The post Up 115% since August, Ora Banda shares leaping higher today on record gold production appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This optimistic session for the local markets followed a mixed start to the American trading week over on Wall Street in the early hours of this morning.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) managed to snatch a win from the jaws of defeat, rising by 0.11%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) wasn't so lucky, though, falling 0.73%.

But let's return to Australian shares now and take stock of how today's indecisiveness affected the various ASX sectors this session.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In early afternoon trade on Tuesday, the ASX 200 is up 0.4%, having given back earlier intraday gains of 1.6%.

The gold miners' strong rally is coming off the boil as well, though ASX gold shares are still outpacing the benchmark. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) is up 2.6% after having been up 5.3% in morning trade.

Here's how these ASX 200 gold stocks are performing at this same time:

• Northern Star shares are up 2.0% at $17.55
• Newmont Corp (ASX: NEM) shares are up 4.8% at $138.10
• Evolution Mining shares are up 3.1% at $11.86
• Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) shares are up 3.3% at $3.42
• Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) shares are up 0.4% at $1.26
• Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD) shares are up 6.3% at $5.69
• Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU) shares are up 2.4% at $4.67
• Vault Minerals Ltd (ASX: VAU) shares are up 2.1% at $3.69
• Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) shares are up 3.1% at $5.18
• Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX: OBM) shares are down 1.0% at $1.04

Boom!

With the exception of Ora Banda, here's why the Aussie gold miners are outperforming today.

ASX 200 gold stocks rally on Trump's Iran reprieve

After getting hammered throughout most of March following the outbreak of the Iran war on 28 February, ASX 200 gold stocks like Evolution Mining and Northern Star are rallying today amid hopes that the conflict could end sooner than later.

This comes after United States President Donald Trump extended his 48-hour deadline to begin bombing Iranian power plants if Iran doesn't fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump offered a five-day reprieve, saying the US is in talks with Iran. An assertion that Iranian authorities have denied.

As you'll have noticed at the petrol station, the oil price has rocketed since the start of the war, with Iran all but closing the vital shipping route in retaliation.

Indeed, on Friday, Brent crude oil was trading north of US$112 per barrel, according to data from Bloomberg.

But the oil price plunged almost 11% overnight, briefly dipping below US$100 per barrel, and is currently trading at US$102.76 per barrel following Trump's comments.

And should the US succeed in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which carries around 20% of the world's oil shipments, Trump predicted that the oil price would "drop like a rock".

Why is that important for ASX 200 gold stocks like Northern Star, Newmont, and Evolution Mining?

Mostly because soaring energy costs will rekindle global inflation and, in turn, lead to higher interest rates. And gold, which pays no yield itself, historically struggles in high or rising interest rate environments.

Stay tuned!

The post Why ASX 200 gold stocks like Northern Star and Evolution Mining are storming higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Gold stocks enjoyed a bull run through 2025, and this continued into the beginning of this year. 

Since the recent conflict began between Iran, Israel and the United States, many experts tipped gold shares to continue their climb. 

However last week, many ASX gold stocks were heavily sold off. 

It's a stark reminder that investing isn't as straightforward as we would like. 

A quick recap 

Among many others, some notable falls last week for some well-known gold stocks included: 

• Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) fell more than 24% last week
• Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX: OBM) fell almost 11%
• Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) lost 11.5%
• Newmont Corp (ASX: NEM) fell 8.5%
• Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) fell 5.5% 

Why are gold stocks falling?

As Bernd Struben reported last week, many gold stocks are now coming under pressure from a sizable retreat in global gold prices. 

Gold dropped from about US$5,322 per ounce on 2 March and was hovering around $4,600 per ounce on Friday.

This is a fall of more than 13%. 

Simultaneously, oil prices have surged.

This shift has pushed investors from gold into energy stocks. At the same time RBA cash rate hikes have also created headwinds for gold stocks, which usually performs better in a low rate environment. 

Is there any value?

After such a heavy sell-off last week, investors may be considering buying the dip on some of these gold stocks. 

Amongst those listed above, recent analysis does suggest some offer long-term value. 

It is worth noting that if current conditions persist, there could be further drops in the near-term. 

Firstly, Bell Potter maintains a buy rating on Northern Star Resources shares and a price target of $30.00. 

It's worth noting this target has declined recently from $35.00. 

Despite this, from last week's closing price of $18.50 for Northern Star Resources, the updated target indicates an upside potential of roughly 62%. 

Another stock that may have fallen to a value is Ora Banda Mining. UBS recently placed a $1.60 price target on the gold stock. 

From last week's closing price of $1.18, this indicates an upside potential of more than 35%. 

The broker believes this gold miner has a pathway to producing 200,000 ounces of gold per year by FY29 while maintaining strong free cash flow yields.

The post Should you buy these ASX gold stocks after last week's crash? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In morning trade, the ASX 200 is down 1.6%.

But the gold miners are doing it much tougher today as witnessed by the 7.1% decline in the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD).

Here's how some of the top ASX 200 gold stock are performing at this same time:

• Northern Star shares are down 7.0% at $19.48
• Newmont shares are down 4.9% at $147.69
• Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) shares are down 7.0% at $12.56
• Ramelius Resources Ltd(ASX: RMS) shares are down 8.7% at $3.69
• Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) shares are down 9.4% at $1.46
• Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD) shares are down 9.1% at $5.61
• Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU) shares are down 6.6% at $4.84
• Vault Minerals Ltd (ASX: VAU) shares are down 8.6% at $4.23
• Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) shares are down 7.8% at $5.69
• Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX: OBM) shares are down 9.4% at $1.35

Ouch!

Here's what's got investors reaching for their sell buttons.

ASX 200 gold stocks in the crosshairs

After enjoying a tremendous run through to the beginning of March this year, ASX 200 gold stocks like Northern Star and Newmont have come under selling pressure amid a sizeable retrace in the record setting gold price.

On 2 March, gold was trading for US$5,322 per ounce. Today, that same ounce is trading for US$4,834, according to data from Bloomberg. That sees the gold price down more than 9% this month.

This comes as the oil price heads the other direction. Brent crude oil is trading or US$107 per barrel today, up 38% since 2 March.

And it matters for two reasons.

First, this divergence in the two commodity prices is driving a rotation from ASX 200 gold stocks into ASX 200 energy stocks.

Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) shares, for example, are up 4.5% today, while rival Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) shares are up 2.8%.

The other reason the gold price – and gold miners like Newmont, Northern Star and Evolution Mining – are taking a steep hit is that fast rising energy prices look likely to fuel inflation.

The Middle East conflict and its impact on global oil prices was cited by Fed officials yesterday when the US central bank opted to keep interest rates on hold. On Tuesday, the RBA also mentioned rising energy costs after it opted to increase interest rates in Australia.

And gold, which pays no yield itself and is priced in US dollars, tends to do better in a low or falling rate environment.

The bigger picture

Longer-term investors in most ASX 200 gold stocks should still be sitting on outsized gains.

Despite today's big retrace, the ASX All Ords Gold Index remains up 55.4% over 12 months.

The post Why are ASX 200 gold stocks like Northern Star and Newmont down so much today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

After starting strong this morning, the ASX 200 took a brief dip into negative territory in afternoon trading. But investors' feet warmed back up by the time the markets closed, with the index lifting 0.36% to 8,614.3 points.

This happier trading session came after a bullish start to the American trading week in the early hours of this morning.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) rose by an optimistic 0.83%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) fared even better, gaining a solid 1.22%.

But let's return to the ASX now and take stock of how the various ASX sectors enjoyed (or not) today's renewed sense of optimism.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The analyst team at UBS has put together a list of its top five picks in the emerging gold space, with price targets as much as 120% above current levels.

Where to for commodity prices?

Firstly, let's look at their gold price forecasts for the coming year.

UBS expects the price of gold to remain relatively steady, rising slightly from the current level of about US$5,000 to US$5,075 in FY27, before dropping back to US$4,575 in FY28.

As they said in their research note this week:

Our price forecasts align with UBS Precious Metals strategists' views, which see an average of US$5,200 for CY26 before the rally fades. We wrote recently that risks remain skewed to the upside in the face of ongoing global uncertainty, and we expect gold to continue to benefit from shifts out of US assets. Interest has heightened across institutional and retail investors and the strength of demand has (so far) more than offset any attempts to take profits. The key drivers remain uncertainty relating to the Middle East conflict and geopolitics, ongoing trade tensions and the modest outlook for global growth, de-dollarisation but also gold offering an alternative in times of currency uncertainty.

Local companies set to benefit

Looking at the Australian emerging companies, UBS said, "strong volume growth and gold prices remaining elevated provides a healthy pathway to higher earnings and cashflow''.

UBS' top pick among the emerging miners is Pantoro Gold Ltd (ASX: PNR), for which it has a $7.50 price target compared with the current share price of $3.67.

Pantoro produced 41,623 ounces of gold for the half year but is continuing to explore for gold around its Norseman operations with a view to increasing production to 200,000 ounces per year in the medium term.

UBS' second pick is Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX), for which it has a price target of $10.25 compared with the current share price of $6.06.

UBS said the company's production target of 470,000 ounces by FY28 "looks conservative'' and there were also cost efficiencies to be had.

UBS' third pick is Minerals 260 Ltd (ASX: MI6), which it has a price target of $1.20 compared with the current price of 62.5 cents.

The company recently agreed to a $220 million funding package to accelerate its Bullabulling gold project, which has a mineral resource of 4.5 million ounces of gold.

UBS' fourth pick is Catalyst Metals Ltd (ASX: CYL), for which it has a price target of $11.25 per share compared with the current price of $6.42.

The team said Catalyst was targeting low capex production growth with strong free cash flow yields.

And finally, UBS' fifth pick is Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX: OBM), for which it has a $1.60 price target compared with the current price of $1.40, with the company having a pathway to producing 200,000 ounces of gold per year by FY29 while maintaining strong free cash flow yields.

The post What are the 5 emerging ASX gold companies UBS has picked as winners? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold stock closed yesterday trading for $1.415. In morning trade on Thursday, shares are changing hands for $1.480 apiece, up 4.6%.

For some context, the ASX 200 is down 1% at this same time.

This outperformance follows the release of a fresh batch of promising drilling results at the miner's Western Australian holdings.

And it comes after Ora Banda shares closed up a blistering 21.5% yesterday.

Investors piled into the stock on Wednesday after the company reported a 964% Mineral Resource increase at its Round Dam gold deposit to 25.6Mt at 1.6g/t [25.6 million tonnes at 1.6 grams of gold per tonne] for 1.330 million ounces.

Now, here's what's catching investor interest today.

Ora Banda shares jump on drill results

This morning, the ASX 200 gold stock reported further exploration success at its high-grade Little Gem Prospect, located some 30 kilometres from Round Dam.

Ora Banda shares are charging higher after the miner revealed that the latest drilling has expanded the Little Gem Prospect's mineralised envelope to more than 1,500 metres of strike and 750 metres vertically below surface. And mineralisation is open in all directions

The miner said it is expanding its exploration window for further drilling and potential mineralisation following the recent discovery of the Sapphire Trend, just 200 metres east of Little Gem. Management said Sapphire presents a new potential lode system.

Ora Banda is aiming for a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate for Little Gem in the second half of calendar year 2026. Drilling remains ongoing.

Among the top drill results from the Little Gem Trend, the miner reported 10.0 metres at 6.9 g/t, including 2.0 metres at 26.9 g/t from one hole; and 6.0 metres at 11.3 g/t, including 1.0 metres at 60.0 g/t from another hole.

What did management say?

Commenting on the results helping lift Ora Banda shares today, managing director Luke Creagh said:

These outstanding drill results continue to confirm the scale and quality of the Little Gem system with recent gains from exploration step-outs at the Sapphire Trend and Sunraysia Prospect demonstrating the outstanding potential of this area.

The work we've been doing is a reminder of the enormous organic growth potential of our ground, and as part of this, we very much look forward to delivering a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate for Little Gem in the second half of CY26.

With today's intraday moves factored in, the Ora Banda share price is up 54% since this time last year.

The post Up 22% yesterday, Ora Banda shares leaping higher again today on 'outstanding' gold results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares rising more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are pushing higher:

Brazilian Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: BRE)

The Brazilian Rare Earths share price is up 7% to $5.53. This morning, this rare earths developer announced new exploration results at the Sulista Project in Brazil. The company revealed that its latest exploration campaign has delivered excellent results across multiple targets, materially expanding the Sulista mineralised footprint and reinforcing Sulista East as the anchor deposit within a rapidly growing district-scale rare earth development opportunity. Brazilian Rare Earths' CEO and managing director, Bernardo da Veiga, commented: "Together, these results strengthen the basis for our near-term scoping study and support our hub-and-spoke development strategy across the Rocha da Rocha Province."

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)

The Lynas Rare Earths share price is up over 12% to $19.95. After the market close on Tuesday, this rare earths giant announced a revised long-term supply agreement with JARE, extending to 2038 and establishing a firm offtake for 5,000 tonnes of NdPr per year at a US$110/kg price floor. Lynas' CEO and managing director, Amanda Lacaze, said: "We are delighted that the revised 12-year availability and supply agreement with JARE will support both Japanese industry and the continued growth and development of Lynas. This new agreement will ensure continued reliable supply of rare earth products that are strategically important to Japanese industry and its global market, and at the same time, the implementation of fair market pricing will reduce price volatility for Lynas and enable continued growth and investment in our operations."

Macquarie Technology Group Ltd (ASX: MAQ)

The Macquarie Technology share price is up 5% to $65.95. This morning, Macquarie Technology revealed that it has secured a $200 million hybrid investment from the government-backed National Reconstruction Fund Corporation. It notes that this funding will support the company's development of sovereign cyber security and cloud services for critical industries and government.

Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX: OBM)

The Ora Banda Mining share price is up 18% to $1.38. This has been driven by the release of an update on the miner's Round Dam gold deposit in Western Australia. Management revealed that its new mineral resource is 25.6Mt at 1.6g/t for 1.330 million ounces. This is up materially from 125,000 ounces previously. Ora Banda's managing director, Luke Creagh, said: "We are incredibly excited by the potential of Round Dam to become a substantial mining operation, as the company continues to advance its study work into the construction of a standalone ~3mtpa processing facility at Davyhurst."

The post Why Brazilian Rare Earths, Lynas, Macquarie Technology, and Ora Banda shares are pushing higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Ora Banda shares closed yesterday trading for $1.165. In early morning trade on Wednesday, shares are changing hands for $1.325 apiece, up 13.7%.

For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.4% at this same time.

This outperformance follows the release of a promising update on the miner's Round Dam gold deposit, located in Western Australia.

Here's what's grabbing investor interest.

ASX 200 gold stock surges on Mineral Resource upgrade

The Ora Banda Mining share price is surging today after the miner reported a massive 964% Mineral Resource increase at Round Dam.

On the heels of the first phase of Ora Banda's FY 2026 growth program, which includes results of drilling up to the end of January, the ASX 200 gold stock revealed a new Mineral Resource of 25.6Mt at 1.6g/t [25.6 million tonnes at 1.6 grams of gold per tonne] for 1.330 million ounces.

That's up from the previous resource at Round Dam of 125,000 ounces.

The new estimate includes 7.1Mt at 1.8g/t for 408,000 ounces in the Indicated category and 18.2Mt at 1.6g/t in the Inferred category.

With the new resource update, Ora Banda's total global resource position has increased by 57% to 3.3 million ounces.

And the ASX 200 gold stock said that exploration along the Round Dam trend is still considered to be at an early stage.

Ora Banda expects to provide further resource updates for other deposits in mid-2026. The company has budgeted $73 million for exploration in FY 2026.

The miner considered all of the Round Dam Resource to be suitable for open-pit mining.

What did management say?

Commenting on the Mineral Resource upgrade lifting the ASX 200 gold stock today, Ora Banda managing director Luke Creagh said, "This fantastic result is testimony to the expertise and hard work of our exploration and resource development teams who continue to deliver outstanding results with our $73 million FY26 exploration budget."

Creagh added:

There is no doubt of the scale of the Round Dam system noting there is significant potential to find more mineralization along strike and at depth, supporting our belief in the ability to deliver rapid resource upgrades through our ongoing organic growth programs.

We are incredibly excited by the potential of Round Dam to become a substantial mining operation, as the company continues to advance its study work into the construction of a standalone ~3mtpa processing facility at Davyhurst.

The post Guess which ASX 200 gold stock is rocketing 14% today on 'fantastic results' appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In late morning trade on Friday, the Northern Star share price is down 5.7% at $27.69. That sees Northern Star shares down 13.7% since Monday's close.

Evolution Mining shares are down 4.3% at the time of writing, changing hands for $15.05 apiece. This puts the Evolution Mining share price down 14.8% since Monday's close.

For some context, the ASX 200 is down 3.2% since the closing bell on Monday.

Here's how these other top ASX 200 gold stocks have performed over this same time:

• Newmont Corp (ASX: NEM) shares are down 11.5%
• Ramelius Resources Ltd(ASX: RMS) shares are down 10.0%
• Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) shares are down 11.7%
• Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD) shares are down 9.0%
• Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU) shares are down 8.3%
• Vault Minerals Ltd (ASX: VAU) shares are down 13.2%
• Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) shares are down 12.5%
• Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX: OBM) shares are down 3.2%

Why are ASX 200 gold stocks getting smashed despite gold's haven status?

In times of global uncertainty, investors often turn to gold as a relatively safe store of wealth.

And, indeed, on Monday, the gold price spiked to US$5,322 per ounce following the United States and Israel's military strikes on Iran. This, in turn, saw most ASX 200 gold stocks post outsized gains on Monday.

But over the following days, the gold price went into reverse.

The yellow metal is currently fetching US$5,094 per ounce, down 4.3% over the past four days.

"Gold's sell-off this week is a reminder to investors that even with rising demand for safe havens, the ultimate safe haven asset isn't immune if market forces work against it," Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro, said.

One of those market forces is the rapidly changing outlook for the prospect of interest rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and a host of other prominent central banks.

That's because the sharp spike in oil prices (Brent crude is up 18% this week, trading at US$85.40 per barrel) is likely to fuel inflation worldwide. And gold tends to underperform in high or rising rate environments.

Fewer (or no) further interest rate cuts from the US Fed will also aid the already strengthening US dollar. And with the gold price in US dollars, that throws up additional headwinds for the yellow metal, as well as ASX 200 gold stocks.

According to Gilbert:

We're seeing similarities to what we saw in 2022. When Russia invaded Ukraine, oil prices surged, inflation spiked globally, and the Fed responded by hiking rates aggressively, which strengthened the dollar and sent gold lower for much of that year…

The physical gold market is also facing real disruption. The UAE, one of the world's most important regions for the global gold trade, closed its airspace over the weekend.

There are other forces pressuring the gold price as well.

As we've seen during other market pullbacks, traders have been selling off their gold holdings to meet margin calls, adding more gold supply to the market just as demand is dipping.

"This hints strongly at 'good for bad' activity in markets, where traders need to cover loss-making positions elsewhere by booking profits on their hitherto profitable trades," National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) head of FX strategy Ray Attrill said (quoted by The Australian Financial Review).

Now what?

As for what's ahead for the likes of Northern Star and Evolution Mining, it's worth noting that the vast majority of ASX gold shares are still well into the green over the longer term.

S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) – which also contains some smaller miners outside of ASX 200 gold stocks – remains up 95.7% since this time last year.

"The structural case for gold hasn't changed," Gilbert said.

He noted:

Central banks have been buying at a historic pace for three consecutive years, concerns around fiscal deficits remain firmly in place, and the geopolitical backdrop is arguably more uncertain now than at any point this year. Gold is still up almost 20% year to date, and with the conflict in the Middle East not seemingly letting up for now, buyers may not be gone for too long.

The post If gold is a safe haven, why are ASX 200 gold stocks like Northern Star and Evolution Mining getting smashed this week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In morning trade on Tuesday, Northern Star shares are up 4.4% to $30.57 each. Evolution Mining shares are close behind, up 4% today at $16.20 apiece.

For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.2% at this same time while the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) – which also contains some smaller gold miners outside of the ASX 200 – is up 2.5%.

Here's how these other top ASX 200 gold stocks are performing on Tuesday:

• Newmont Corp (ASX: NEM) shares are up 0.7%
• Ramelius Resources Ltd(ASX: RMS) shares are up 3.7%
• Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) shares are up 0.8%
• Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD) shares are up 1.3%
• Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU) shares are up 1.2%
• Vault Minerals Ltd (ASX: VAU) shares are up 2.6%
• Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) shares are up 2.7%
• Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX: OBM) shares are up 1.3%

Here's what's catching ASX investor interest today.

Why are ASX 200 gold stocks smashing the benchmark today?

Investors are piling into Aussie gold miners like Evolution Mining and Northern Star shares today amid renewed concerns over US President Donald Trump's global tariff plans.

With the US Supreme Court striking down Trump's earlier nation-by-nation tariffs as exceeding his authority, Trump now aims to level a potential 15% tariff on every nation for up to 150 days.

That's played into gold's haven status, with the yellow metal jumping early this morning to US$5,248 per ounce. At the time of writing, gold is fetching US$5,481 per ounce. This sees the gold price up 12.5% from the recent lows on 2 February and up a blistering 80% since this time last year.

And, as you'd expect, with higher gold prices, ASX 200 gold stocks tend to deliver juicier profits, which is driving investor interest in Aussie miners today.

What the experts are saying about the gold price

Commenting on the resurgent gold price that's sending Northern Star and Evolution Mining shares soaring today, Bloomberg markets strategist Mark Cranfield said:

Gold's strength amid a lower positioning from hedge funds shows that there's further position upside. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission data shows that the net-long position for gold futures have fallen to the lowest level in nearly a year.

Vasu Menon, strategist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp, also has a bullish medium-term outlook for the gold price. But he cautioned about short-term volatility, which could also see some price swings in ASX 200 gold stocks.

According to Menon:

There are enough structural factors in favour of gold in the medium term. In the short term, however, expect gold prices to be volatile after the sharp gains in recent months given still-unfolding developments with US trade policy, and the situation in Iran.

The post Why are ASX 200 gold stocks like Evolution Mining and Northern Star shares going gangbusters on Tuesday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold stock closed Friday trading for $1.28. In morning trade on Monday, shares are swapping hands for $1.18 apiece, down 7.8%.

For some context, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) is down 0.7% at this same time.

In a better comparison of golden apples to golden apples, Ora Banda shares are moderately outperforming the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD), which is down 8.9% this morning.

This comes as the gold price continues to get hammered in the wake of US President Donald Trump's appointment of Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chairman. Gold is currently trading for US$4,801 per ounce, down more than 21% since Thursday.

Warsh's focus on combating inflation has traders pricing in higher US interest rates. That could throw up numerous headwinds for gold, which doesn't pay a yield itself and is priced in US dollars.

That's the macro picture.

Now here's the latest from the ASX 200 gold miner.

Ora Banda shares on the growth path

Though pressured by the falling gold price today, Ora Banda mining shares could get longer-term support after the miner announced another batch of "exceptional drill results".

The results come from Round Dam, an 18-kilometre-long mineralised trend located within the company's Waihi Project, in Western Australia. Ora Banda has been actively exploring the open-pit and underground mining potential along a 7.5-kilometre section of this trend.

Ora Banda has now completed 280 holes for 53,000 metres of drilling from its 62,000 metre Phase 1 exploratory program.

This morning, the miner reported it had identified up to six subparallel continuous gold lodes along the trend. The company said that early indications are that the Round Dam trend will be "highly amenable" to bulk tonnage open-pit mining with the added potential for high grade shoot development.

What did management say?

Commenting on the latest gold results that could help boost Ora Banda shares over the longer term, managing director Luke Creagh said, "At Round Dam we are looking at the potential for large-scale surface mining opportunities, enhanced by multiple, newly identified high grade shoots."

Creagh added:

Excitingly, the Round Dam Project is located only 15 kilometres from our existing Davyhurst processing infrastructure, with the potential for rapid resource development.

Today's Round Dam results are another highlight in the company's ongoing $73 million FY26 exploration strategy to target projects with the potential to become mines in short order supporting the company's organic growth strategy.

Despite now sinking a painful 29.8% since Thursday's close, Ora Banda shares remain up 85.2% since hitting one-year closing lows on 1 August.

The post Tumbling gold price pressuring Ora Banda shares despite new high-grade results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In afternoon trade, the ASX 200 gold stock is down 15% to $1.42.

Why is this ASX 200 gold stock crashing?

This gold miner's shares have come under significant pressure following the release of its quarterly update.

According to the release, Ora Banda delivered record gold production for the quarter totalling 32,036 ounces. This is a 5% increase on the September quarter.

This supported gold sales of 31,247 ounces with an average realised price of A$6,049 per ounce, leading to the ASX 200 gold stock reporting quarterly revenue of $189 million.

At the end of the quarter, Ora Banda had a cash balance of $155.4 million. This is up $32.8 million from the end of September despite spending $57.9 million on capital, resource development, and exploration, as well as $8.3 million for put option premiums.

So, why the selling?

On paper this looks like a good update, so why is this ASX 200 gold stock being sold off?

Well, the reason for that is its outlook. Management revealed that based on the expected ramp up in Sand King and Riverina production, FY 2026 gold production is now expected to be at the lower end of its 140k ounces to 155k ounces guidance range.

In addition, its FY 2026 all-in sustaining cost (AISC) is now expected to be $3,250 per ounce to $3,350 per ounce. This is up from $2,800 to $2,900 per ounce. Management advised that this reflects increased tonnage through third party processing at a higher cost linked to the rising gold price.

Finally, growth capital is now expected to be $143 million (from $86 million), incorporating key growth initiatives.

The ASX 200 gold stock's managing director, Luke Creagh, said:

The Company continues to deliver its organic growth strategy, with production expected to increase in the second half of FY26 as mining volumes increase at both operations. Importantly, the $73 million investment in exploration and resource development drilling across the Project in FY26 continues to yield strong results, underpinning the recent decision to approve a number of additional capital growth projects.

Despite today's weakness, the Ora Banda share price is still smashing the market on a 12-month basis. Since this time last year, the company's shares have risen by an impressive 80%.

The post Why is this ASX 200 gold stock crashing 15% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:

Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN)

The Brainchip share price is down 6% to 15.5 cents. Investors have been selling this semiconductor company's shares following the release of another disappointing quarterly update. Brainchip recorded cash receipts of just US$0.4 million for the three months ended 31 December. That's despite it entering the commercialisation stage a few years ago. And with its market capitalisation now at $350 million, it seems that some investors are finally recognising that this premium valuation is undeserved.

Galan Lithium Ltd (ASX: GLN)

The Galan Lithium share price is down 13% to 40.7 cents. This morning, this lithium developer announced that it has received firm commitments from institutional and sophisticated investors for a $40 million placement at a discount of 41 cents per new share. The proceeds will be used to complete phase one construction activities, expand phase one production capacity from 4 ktpa LCE to 5.2 ktpa LCE, undertake exploration activities at Greenbushes South, and for working capital purposes. The company's managing director, Juan Pablo Vargas de la Vega, commented: "An accelerated recovery in lithium prices has provided Galan with an opportunity to expand HMW Phase 1 production capacity by 30%."

Iluka Resources Ltd (ASX: ILU)

The Iluka Resources share price is down 13.5% to $5.58. Investors have been selling this mineral sands company's shares after it revealed that it would recognise $565 million in impairment charges in its upcoming first-half results. It advised: "The suspension [of the Cataby mine] was enacted given subdued demand for mineral sands and their associated downstream products, particularly pigment. The persistence of these demand conditions has impacted price expectations in the nearer term."

Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX: OBM)

The Ora Banda Mining share price is down 13% to $1.44. This morning, this gold miner released its quarterly update and revealed record gold production. However, looking further ahead, management is now guiding to the low end of its production guidance range and has increased its cost guidance meaningfully. Its FY 2026 all-in sustaining cost (AISC) is now expected to be $3,250 per ounce to $3,350 per ounce from $2,800 to $2,900 per ounce.

The post Why Brainchip, Galan Lithium, Iluka, and Ora Banda shares are tumbling today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

And I think the top Aussie gold miners are well-placed to deliver another year of strong outperformance in 2026.

We'll take a look at what the year ahead may bring in a tick.

But first…

What's been sending ASX 200 gold shares rocketing?

Atop their own mining and exploration successes, the big Aussie gold stocks have enjoyed strong tailwinds from a rocketing gold price.

On Thursday, gold was trading near its all-time highs at US$4,627 per ounce. This sees the gold price is up a whopping 72% over the last 12 months.

Over those 12 months, the ASX 200 has gained 7.7%.

Here's how these leading ASX 200 gold shares have performed over this period as at market close yesterday:

• Newmont shares are up 161.4%
• Northern Star shares are up 57.6%
• Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) shares are up 105.4%
• Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) shares are up 142.7%
• Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) shares are up 53.4%
• Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD) shares are up 168.1%
• Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU) shares are up 117.3%
• Vault Minerals Ltd (ASX: VAU) shares are up 155.4%
• Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) shares are up151.7%
• Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX: OBM) shares are up 108.1%

Why Newmont and Northern Star shares can outshine again in 2026

You're unlikely to find any investors complaining about the past 12 months performance delivered by the above gold miners.

And amid growing analyst consensus that gold's bull run is far from over, I think ASX 200 gold shares including Evolution Mining, Northern Star and Newmont should deliver another year of outsized gains in 2026.

"Unlike [surging] equity indices or AI stocks … the dynamics driving the gold price are driven by fear, not greed," Webull Securities Australia CEO Rob Talevski said.

According to Talevski:

This fear and greed dichotomy characterises the nature of financial market dynamics today: private investors are chasing returns fuelled by favourable US politics for capital markets, driving the top end of equity indices to new highs; at the same time, central banks as well as global macro investors are expanding allocations to gold, given the potential fallout associated with a breakdown between Wall Street and Main Street, as well as central bank independence.

Talevski concluded, "The global-uncertainty dynamics that prompted these trends toward the end of 2025 have only risen in 2026, creating a perfect storm for ongoing gold demand."

And he's far from alone on his bullish assessment on the gold price outlook.

Sebastian Mullins, head of multi-asset and fixed income at Schroders, noted (quoted by The Australian Financial Review):

Gold is benefiting from continued worries over currency debasement along with rising geopolitical risk. In the US, Trump continues to pressure the Federal Reserve … at the same time, geopolitical uncertainty in both Venezuela and now Iran are causing further demand for the safe haven.

And in what would be welcome news for ASX 200 gold shares, the analysts at Global X expect the gold price will top US$5,000 per ounce in 2026.

According to Global X investment strategist Justin Lin:

We see gold as one of the most attractive investments of 2026. The key drivers of gold's strength are still in play. Central banks are set to continue purchasing gold, geopolitical risks remain elevated, and activity in exchange-traded funds is strong.

The post Why I think ASX 200 gold shares like Newmont and Northern Star will keep surging higher in 2026 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.