ASX August Winners: ASX 200 up, healthcare hammered, Kaili blasts off

• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 3.10% in August and has posted gains of 12.33% so far for CY25
• Materials led the gainers up 9.19%, while Healthcare fell 13.21% with CSL having its biggest ever daily fall
• Rare earths explorer Kaili Resources rose a staggering 10,983% in August

August delivered a wild ride for ASX investors, with dizzying gains, sharp falls and a reporting season that had many holding their breath.

The S&P/ASX 200 Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 increased by 3.10% in August to close just below the 9,000 mark, with its fifth straight monthly gain.

Smaller companies showed notable strength, with the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries and the S&P/ASX Emerging Companies soaring by 8% and 10%, respectively,  according to S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI).

Don’t be fooled, August was one tough month

But don’t be deceived by what looks on the surface like a strong month. Morgans’ investment strategist Tom Sartor told Stockhead that beneath the +3.10% surface, August was “looking like one of the toughest reporting seasons for some time”.

“Positive surprises were more elusive than usual while the market didn’t hesitate in brutally punishing misses, or even simply a lack of momentum,” he said.

“The market seems to be chasing momentum at any cost, with the up-movers being driven far more by valuation expansion rather than by earnings.

“We now look toward the October ‘mini results season, conference season and AGM season for further insights and suspect volatility will again feature given valuations remain stretched.

Sartor said notable beats included sleep disorder device maker ResMed (ASX:RMD), insurance and banking provider Suncorp Group (ASX:SUN), diversified real estate group Stockland (ASX:SGP), car dealer Eagers Automotive (ASX:APE), retailer Super Retail Group (ASX:SUL) and Pinnacle Investment (ASX:PNI).

Notable misses include blood products giant CSL (ASX:CSL), retailer Woolworths (ASX:WOW), building supplier James Hardie (ASX:JHX), tech company WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC), pathology and radiology provider Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL) and energy provider AGL Energy (ASX:AGL).

Materials lead gains as health sector bleeds

Nine out of 11 sectors in the S&P/ASX 200 reported gains, led by materials, which rose 9.19%  and consumer discretionary, up 7.60%. August 2025 will go down as a month the long-suffering ASX healthcare sector would rather forget.

Just when it was finally catching a bid, the sector fumbled heavily, plunging 13.1% to erase all of its July gains. The fall was largely attributed to a sell-off in the sector’s largest name CSL following its FY25 results and a spinoff announcement.

The Information Technology sector also remained under pressure, falling 1.70% in August.

Interest rates fall 25bps as US Fed signals softening stance

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) eased interest rates a further 25bps at its August meeting to from 3.60% after figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics at the end of July showed CPI inflation fell to 2.1% in the June quarter, down from 3.8% in June 2024.

Optimism also grew for a US interest rate cut in September as US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell addressed global central bankers at the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.

Despite President Donald Trump’s push for lower rates — along with name-calling and calls for his removal — Powell has stood firm in defending the Federal Reserve’s independence in recent months.

With interest rates already “in restrictive territory” and weighing on economic activity, Powell noted that “the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance”.

Analysts, however, still seem undecided for now on which way the Fed will jump.

An interest rate cut boost saw modest gains in fixed income indices and Australian bonds.

Among factor indices, value, equal weight and high dividend stood out with 6% gains, while growth lagged as the worst-performing factor YTD.

Volatility continued its downward trend, with the S&P/ASX 200 VIX closing at 10.2%, the lowest level since February, and the S&P 500’s VIX falling below 15%.

The 50 best performing ASX stocks in August

August saw some staggering price jumps on the ASX, with a handful of small-cap stocks posting eye-watering gains over the month. From tech plays to rare earth explorers, a mix of corporate announcements and strategic pivots sent share prices soaring – and, in the case of Kaili Resources (ASX:KLR), by an astonishing 10,983%.

The rare earths explorer, which was until recently majority-owned by a Chinese coal company, copped multiple speeding tickets in August and has been cast by some as the market’s newest meme stock.

Shares jumped more than 8000% on August 18 to $3.18. Both the ASX and ASIC have confirmed they are aware of KLR’s share price surge, though ASIC has declined to comment further.

In its last announcement for August, KLR confirmed it has received regulatory approval to start drilling at its Limestone Coast rare earth project in South Australia. The program will cover three tenements — Lameroo EL 6856, Karte EL 6977, and Coodalya EL 6978 — located in the Murray Basin near Australian Rare Earths’ (ASX:AR3)  Koppamurra project.

Digital asset management company 333D (ASX:T3D)  surged 614% in August after moving into the Bitcoin market with a formal treasury strategy.

The company plans to channel all excess cash into Bitcoin as a strategic reserve, taking its first step by converting $370,500 into 2.018 BTC.

The move positions 333D among a small group of ASX-listed companies adopting Bitcoin as a long-term store of value rather than a speculative asset. Globally, the approach has seen notable success, including at Nasdaq-listed MicroStrategy in the US.

Great Northern Minerals (ASX:GNM) rose 322% in August, driven largely after announcing the acquisition of the Catalyst Ridge project, 119 mineral claims near Mountain Pass in California’s Mojave Desert.

The California rare earths hub is hot, with GNM set to explore for rare earths and antimony, following ASX peers Dateline Resources (ASX:DTR), Bayan Mining and Minerals (ASX:BMM) and Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY).

The rally has been supported by the US Department of Defense’s investment in MP Materials, guaranteeing a floor price of US$110/kg NdPr, and was accompanied by a $2.6 million capital raising led by Perth’s CPS Capital to fund exploration.

The 50 worst performing ASX stocks in August

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent financial advice before making any financial decisions.