ASX today, ASX 200 up 0.64%, Firmus float withdrawn

Samso Market Update | Friday, 9 October 2026 | Market close 4:30pm AEDT

Firmus withdrew its application to list on the ASX today, and the S&P/ASX 200 closed up 55.7 points or 0.64% at 8,716.6. Firmus is a data centre operator that had been due to list on 23 October. The All Ordinaries, which tracks the 500 largest listed companies, rose 0.62% to 8,877.7. The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries, an index of the companies ranked 101 to 300 by size, rose 0.36% to 3,281.9. Thursday's edition is ASX today, Thursday 8 October 2026.

ASX today: Key Highlights

• The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,716.6, up 55.7 points or 0.64% (Yahoo Finance, 4:14pm AEDT). It fell 0.77% on Thursday.

• Nine of the 11 sectors rose. Information technology was the strongest, up 2.23%, ahead of consumer discretionary at 2.16%. Telecommunications was the weakest, down 0.57%. Materials fell 0.03%.

• Firmus withdrew its application to list on the ASX. Maas Group Holdings Limited (ASX: MGH), a Firmus shareholder and supplier, was halted in the morning and closed down 6.65% at A$4.63.

• Uranium companies fell in all four size bands. Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) fell 9.93% and Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL) fell 7.11%.

• Across 1,637 ASX-listed companies, 579 rose, 471 fell and 587 were unchanged (ASX data, 4:34pm AEDT).

• Gold futures for December were at US$4,216.10 an ounce at 4:24pm AEDT. The Australian dollar was buying approximately 69.9 US cents.

The Firmus float and the rise in technology shares

ABC News reported shortly after 9:00am AEDT that the Firmus float had been pulled after poor demand. It reported that Firmus withdrew its application "after big investors baulked at the price". A float, or initial public offering (IPO), is the first sale of a company's shares to the public.

Maas Group described the Firmus statement in its own ASX release. It said the Firmus board had considered "recent market volatility and prevailing market conditions" and decided that the terms on which the float could proceed "would not appropriately reflect the strength of Firmus' business and long-term growth outlook". Maas said Firmus will now seek capital from private markets and consider other public and private options. Samso has read the Maas release and has not seen the Firmus statement itself.

The index rose on the same day. The sector figures are from Yahoo Finance at 4:14pm AEDT. Information technology rose 2.23% and consumer discretionary rose 2.16%. Real estate rose 1.88%, utilities 1.75%, consumer staples 1.25%, health care 1.14%, industrials 0.87%, financials 0.49% and energy 0.22%. Materials fell 0.03% and telecommunications fell 0.57%. The gold sub-index, which tracks listed gold miners, rose 1.87%.

ABC News reporter Yiying Li wrote at 12:18pm AEDT that information technology was "rebounding from its recent decline" and that the sector was down 2.8% over the past five days. Samso found no domestic economic release or Reserve Bank of Australia announcement during the session.

Blue Chips (above A$1 billion)

The four bands in this edition are Samso's own size bands. Each company is placed by its market capitalisation at Thursday's close. Turnover is the dollar value of shares traded in the session.

Maas Group Holdings Limited (ASX: MGH) closed at A$4.63, down 6.65%, on turnover of A$33.10 million. It fell 22.38% on Thursday to A$4.96. Trading was paused at 9:57am AEDT and the shares went into a trading halt at 10:56am. A trading halt is a stop in trading that a company requests while it prepares an announcement. Maas released its update at 2:43pm and the shares traded again in the afternoon. Maas said it bought 1,088,861 ordinary shares and 1,091,100 preference shares in Firmus this year at an average cost of approximately A$188 a share. It said its subsidiary JLE Group has received work orders from Firmus totalling approximately A$1.1 billion and payments of A$373 million against them. It said it expects the work to be completed by the end of 2027.

Sunrise Energy Metals Limited (ASX: SRL) fell 11.05% to A$17.15 on turnover of A$20.32 million, with no ASX announcement since yesterday afternoon. Deep Yellow Limited (ASX: DYL) fell 7.11% to A$0.98 and Silex Systems Limited (ASX: SLX) fell 5.42% to A$4.01. PLS Group Limited (ASX: PLS) fell 5.41% to A$3.50 on turnover of A$139.91 million. NexGen Energy (Canada) Ltd (ASX: NXG) fell 3.84% to A$12.28 and Liontown Limited (ASX: LTR) fell 3.75% to A$0.77. None of the five had an ASX announcement since yesterday afternoon. Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited (ASX: EOS) fell 4.25% to A$10.13 on turnover of A$103.66 million, on the day it announced a counter-drone contract. The title of the release gave a value of A$700 million.

Generation Development Group Limited (ASX: GDG) rose 7.31% to A$2.79, with no ASX announcement since yesterday afternoon. DPM Metals Inc. (ASX: DPM) rose 6.23% to A$55.94 on the day it lodged its third quarter production result with the ASX, which was 97,000 gold equivalent ounces. Gold equivalent ounces convert a miner's other metals into gold at market prices so that output can be stated as one number. West African Resources Limited (ASX: WAF) rose 5.43% to A$3.69 on turnover of A$29.66 million and Lovisa Holdings Limited (ASX: LOV) rose 5.04% to A$23.57. Lovisa fell 9.15% on Thursday. The Lottery Corporation Limited (ASX: TLC) rose 4.64% to A$5.19 on turnover of A$96.54 million, after a rise of 3.77% on Thursday. Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) rose 4.50% to A$165.73. West African Resources, Lovisa, The Lottery Corporation and Pro Medicus had no price-sensitive ASX announcement since yesterday afternoon.

Mid Caps (A$500 million to A$1 billion)

Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT) fell 11.11% to A$2.80 on turnover of A$10.55 million, after a fall of 11.52% on Thursday. Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) fell 9.93% to A$1.36 on turnover of A$15.62 million. Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) fell 7.55% to A$0.245, its third fall of more than 6% in three sessions. Artrya Limited (ASX: AYA) fell 7.38% to A$3.01. Bannerman Energy Ltd (ASX: BMN) fell 7.37% to A$3.14 on the day it announced that its share purchase plan had completed. Vulcan Energy Resources Limited (ASX: VUL) fell 6.89% to A$1.42 and PMET Resources Inc. (ASX: PMT) fell 6.02% to A$0.39. None of the seven had a price-sensitive ASX announcement since yesterday afternoon.

Gains in this band were smaller. Ricegrowers Limited (ASX: SGLLV) rose 6.04% to A$13.52. Australian Clinical Labs Limited (ASX: ACL) rose 5.00% to A$2.94. New Murchison Gold Limited (ASX: NMG) rose 4.76% to A$0.066 and IDP Education Limited (ASX: IEL) rose 4.76% to A$2.20. None had a price-sensitive ASX announcement since yesterday afternoon.

Small Caps (A$150 million to A$500 million)

DXN Limited (ASX: DXN) fell 16.67% to A$0.40 on turnover of A$4.81 million, with no ASX announcement since yesterday afternoon. Metallium Limited (ASX: MTM) fell 11.86% to A$0.26. Alligator Energy Limited (ASX: AGE) fell 10.26% to A$0.035. EchoIQ Limited (ASX: EIQ) fell 6.19% to A$0.53 on turnover of A$1.99 million and Dateline Resources Limited (ASX: DTR) fell 5.56% to A$0.085. The only price-sensitive release among the five was lodged under Metallium's code by another company, Environmental Clean Technologies Limited, about test work using Metallium's technology.

Prospect Resources Limited (ASX: PSC) rose 8.11% to A$0.30, after a rise of 6.73% on Thursday. Mastermyne Group Limited (ASX: MYE) rose 6.21% to A$0.77 on the day it announced a mining services contract at the Tahmoor coal mine in New South Wales. The company said the first two years are worth approximately A$80 million and the contract could reach approximately A$240 million over six years if two extension options are taken up. Astral Resources NL (ASX: AAR) rose 6.06% to A$0.175 on the day it announced a larger Mineral Resource at its Spargoville gold project in Western Australia. A Mineral Resource is an estimate of metal in the ground and is not a measure of what can be mined at a profit. Astral said the Spargoville estimate rose 102% to 281,000 ounces of contained gold.

Micro Caps (below A$150 million)

Moves in this band were on low turnover. S2 Resources Ltd (ASX: S2R) rose 27.27% to A$0.07 on turnover of A$0.06 million. Recharge Metals Limited (ASX: REC) rose 22.22% to A$0.044 and Mamba Exploration Limited (ASX: M24) rose 20.75% to A$0.064. Mamba fell 18.46% on Thursday. Micro-X Limited (ASX: MX1) rose 18.52% to A$0.064 on turnover of A$0.63 million. None of the four had a price-sensitive ASX announcement since yesterday afternoon.

Normandy Minerals Ltd (ASX: NMD) rose 20.00% to A$0.36 on turnover of A$0.22 million, with no ASX announcement since yesterday afternoon. Samso reviewed the company's float in Normandy Minerals IPO.

FBR Ltd (ASX: FBR) fell 14.29% to A$0.054 on turnover of A$0.29 million. Peninsula Energy Limited (ASX: PEN) fell 10.87% to A$0.205 on turnover of A$0.62 million. Avecho Biotechnology Limited (ASX: AVE) fell 11.11% to A$0.016. None of the three had an ASX announcement since yesterday afternoon. Argosy Minerals Limited (ASX: AGY) fell 10.71% to A$0.025 on the day it announced that its share purchase plan had completed.

Commodities and Currency

Each change below is measured against the Thursday close quoted in this morning's edition. Prices are from Yahoo Finance at about 4:24pm AEDT.

Gold futures for December were at US$4,216.10 an ounce, up about 1.4%. Copper for December was at US$6.646 a pound, up about 1.4%. Brent crude for December was at US$103.03 a barrel, down about 0.9%. West Texas Intermediate, the US oil benchmark, was at US$90.46 a barrel for November delivery, down about 0.8%. A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell at a set price on a later date, and the month named is when it falls due.

ABC News showed iron ore flat at US$99.98 a tonne at 2:27pm AEDT. This morning's edition quoted US$91.13 a tonne from the same source. Samso could not reconcile the two figures.

The Australian dollar was buying approximately 69.9 US cents at 4:32pm AEDT. It was at approximately 69.6 US cents at 8:45am AEDT.

Samso Concluding Comments

The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.64% on the day Firmus withdrew its float, and it recovered most of Thursday's 0.77% fall. Nine of the 11 sectors rose and information technology rose the most. Maas Group fell a further 6.65% and has set out the size of its Firmus shareholding and its Firmus work orders. Uranium and lithium companies fell across the size bands, and Samso found no announcement or report that explains those falls.

General information only. This is not financial advice.

Samso Market Update | Friday, 9 October 2026 | Pre-market 9:45am AEDT

Futures point to a slightly higher open on the ASX today. ASX 200 futures were up 0.2% at 8,697 points at about 7:30am AEDT, according to ABC News. A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell at a set price on a later date, and its price shows where traders expect the index to go. The S&P/ASX 200 closed on Thursday at 8,660.9, down 66.8 points or 0.77%. The All Ordinaries, which tracks the 500 largest listed companies, fell 0.80% to 8,823.2. The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries, an index of the companies ranked 101 to 300 by size, fell 1.22% to 3,270.0. The Australian dollar was buying approximately 69.6 US cents at 8:45am AEDT. Thursday's edition is ASX today, Thursday 8 October 2026.

ASX today: Key Highlights

• ASX 200 futures were up 0.2% at 8,697 points at about 7:30am AEDT (ABC News).

• The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.25% on Thursday to 27,193.34. The S&P 500 fell 0.47% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.10%.

• Yahoo Finance reported that chip makers fell after a Financial Times report on OpenAI's revenue.

• Brent crude for December closed at US$103.92 a barrel, up approximately 3.7%.

• Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.42% on Thursday to 69,042.11. Germany's DAX fell 1.18%.

• No Australian Bureau of Statistics release is scheduled for today.

Wall Street overnight

Wall Street finished mixed on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.10% to 51,231.64. The S&P 500 fell 0.47% to 7,765.36, its second fall in a row. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.25% to 27,193.34. The Russell 2000, an index of smaller US companies, was little changed at approximately 2,793.

Yahoo Finance reported that the Financial Times had put OpenAI's annualised revenue at US$20 billion lower than previously estimated. OpenAI is the company behind ChatGPT. Yahoo Finance reported that Nvidia, Micron and Intel fell, and that the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which tracks US chip makers, was down as much as 4% during the session.

The US 10-year Treasury yield was about 5.23% at about 3pm New York time on Thursday, down about 5 basis points from 5.28% on Wednesday. A Treasury is a US government bond. A bond yield is the yearly return from buying a government bond at today's price, and when yields rise, bond prices fall. A basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point.

The US Labor Department reported that new claims for unemployment benefits fell by 2,000 to 197,000 in the week ended 3 October.

Japan

The Nikkei 225 closed on Thursday at 69,042.11, down 993.60 points or 1.42%. It had closed on Wednesday at 70,035.71. Trading Economics reported that higher oil prices raised inflation concerns, and that technology and banking shares led the falls. It also reported that a Bank of Japan board member favoured a gradual approach to raising interest rates. The US dollar was buying approximately 157.79 yen at 8:45am AEDT.

London and Europe

London's FTSE 100 closed on Thursday at 10,441.6, down 0.16%. Germany's DAX fell 1.18% to 24,806.97, after a fall of 1.35% on Wednesday. France's CAC 40 fell 0.51% to 7,729.69.

Currencies

The Australian dollar was buying approximately 69.6 US cents at 8:45am AEDT. It was at approximately 69.6 US cents at the same time on Thursday. The US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against six major currencies, was at 102.10 late on Thursday, little changed from Wednesday. The euro was buying approximately US$1.122 at 8:45am AEDT. The US dollar was buying approximately 157.79 yen.

Commodities

Brent crude for December closed on Thursday at US$103.92 a barrel, up approximately 3.7%. The contract month is the month a futures contract falls due. West Texas Intermediate, the US oil benchmark, closed at US$91.18 a barrel for November delivery, up approximately 3.3%.

Yahoo Finance reported three reasons for the rise in oil. They were reports that the United States was weighing new strikes on Iran, production cuts in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of a tropical storm, and attacks on shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. It reported that prices eased after President Donald Trump said the US "will not be attacking Iran at any time prior to the Midterm Elections".

Gold futures for December closed at US$4,158.30 an ounce, up approximately 0.4%. Silver for December fell approximately 1.4% to US$59.43 an ounce. Copper for December closed at US$6.5505 a pound. Iron ore was down 0.1% at US$91.13 a tonne, according to ABC News.

Today's diary

• No Australian Bureau of Statistics release is scheduled for today, according to the ABS release calendar.

• The Reserve Bank of Australia lists no statistical release for today.

• Firmus, a data centre operator, was due to list on the ASX on 23 October. ABC News reported this morning that Bloomberg said Firmus is set to delay its float. Samso has not seen a Firmus statement.

Samso Concluding Comments

The Nasdaq fell 1.25% on Thursday and the Dow rose 0.10%. Yahoo Finance linked the fall in chip makers to a Financial Times report on OpenAI's revenue. Brent crude closed above US$103 a barrel, and the Nikkei 225 fell 1.42% to finish below 70,000. ASX 200 futures were up 0.2% at about 7:30am AEDT, after the index fell 0.77% on Thursday.

General information only. This is not financial advice.