Closing Bell: ASX starts week down as supermarket giants hit by wages ruling

Coles and Woolies roll into trouble after court wage ruling. Pic via Getty Images

ASX closes 0.24% lower on Monday with tech leading gainers and energy the laggards
Asian markets climb higher led by Tokyo after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announces resignation
Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths face hefty staff underpayment bill after federal court ruling

The ASX closed 0.24% lower on Monday to 8849.60 points, trimming losses in the afternoon session after being down 0.35% at lunchtime.

The local bourse mirrored Wall Street’s risk-off finish to last week. US markets retreated after another weak jobs report with just 22,000 new roles added versus 75,000 expected — pushing US unemployment to 4.3% and leaving the US Federal Reserve with little choice but to cut rates at its upcoming September meeting.

In Friday’s session the S&P 500 closed down 0.3%, the Dow Jones index fell 0.5% and the technology-focused Nasdaq ended flat.

On the ASX today tech was the strongest performer up ~1.2% with location app Life360 (ASX:360) surging ~6%, while energy led the laggards, slumping 2% to a two-month low.

Woodside Energy Group (ASX:WDS) shed 3.5% amid continued bearish pressure on oil from plans to boost OPEC+ output, weak US jobs data and global trade tensions.

Gold prices surged through US$3,650 an ounce before easing back under US$3,600, which helped fuel a rally across ASX gold stocks.

Japan leads Asian markets higher

Asian markets climbed higher on Monday led by Tokyo, which jumped nearly 2% after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation less than a year into the role after two election losses.

The Liberal Democratic Party, which has dominated Japanese politics for much of the past 70 years, lost its lower house majority under Ishiba for the first time in 15 years, followed by a defeat in the upper house in July.

Ishiba’s resignation weakened the yen with the Nikkei rising 1.9%, with exporters buoyed by the weaker currency. The yen slipped with one USD buying 148.04 yen, up from 147.07 on Friday.

Coles and Woolies ring up hefty wages bill

In the big-cap aisles, Woolworths (ASX:WOW) and Coles Group (ASX:COL) have rung up a hefty bill — a combined $800 million in wage underpayments after a Federal Court ruling.

Both Woolworths and Coles today issued statements to the ASX updating investors on the continued costs of underpaid wages to staff going back several years.

Woolies is looking at up to $530 million in liabilities, while Coles could be on the hook for around $250m.

Woolies shares showed greater resilience to the ruling today, closing up 0.54% and Coles down 0.83%.

ASX Leaders

Today’s best performing stocks (including small caps):

Code	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
IBX	Imagion Biosys Ltd	0.035	119%	136,008,603	$3,941,463
QFE	Quickfee Limited	0.095	76%	7,134,557	$20,114,015
ROG	Red Sky Energy	0.0045	50%	68,461,235	$16,266,682
PAB	Patrys Limited	0.0015	50%	4,411,039	$4,583,757
4DX	4Dmedical Limited	2.31	50%	35,859,969	$724,399,130
MEM	Memphasys Ltd	0.005	43%	16,134,644	$6,942,593
SNS	Sensen Networks Ltd	0.095	38%	10,442,861	$54,719,586
WWG	Wisewaygroupltd	0.18	33%	265,259	$23,065,181
GUM	Gumtree Australia	0.13	30%	50,000	$32,097,258
DRE	Dreadnought Resources Ltd	0.022	29%	59,410,921	$86,351,500
DEL	Delorean Corporation	0.165	27%	580,217	$28,636,160
BGE	Bridgesaaslimited	0.025	25%	3,291,804	$3,997,184
CZN	Corazon Ltd	0.0025	25%	8,934,957	$2,469,145
ERA	Energy Resources	0.0025	25%	119,367	$810,792,482
GGE	Grand Gulf Energy	0.0025	25%	1,751,572	$5,640,850
RMX	Red Mount Min Ltd	0.01	25%	23,710,494	$4,761,737
SRJ	SRJ Technologies	0.01	25%	19,089,037	$11,033,161
I88	Infini Resources Ltd	0.28	24%	383,370	$11,783,254
IVZ	Invictus Energy Ltd	0.255	24%	24,005,300	$328,713,764
DAL	Dalaroometalsltd	0.059	23%	3,362,953	$14,148,092
TM1	Terra Metals Limited	0.105	21%	5,403,787	$54,411,608
M24	Mamba Exploration	0.018	20%	510,301	$4,427,484
4DS	4Ds Memory Limited	0.012	20%	326,698,839	$20,608,987
AVW	Avira Resources Ltd	0.012	20%	1,867,368	$2,300,000
VAR	Variscan Mines Ltd	0.006	20%	900,743	$4,501,432

In the news…

Fintech QuickFee (ASX:QFE) closed 70% higher today after announcing it was selling its US Pay Now (ACH card and connect) business to Aiwyn, Inc. for US$26.35 million (A$40m), reflecting a 5x revenue multiple based on FY25 revenue of US$5.3m.

QuickFee will retain its US Finance loan book and product, while most US Pay Now staff are set to transition to Aiwyn, a KKR and Bessemer backed provider of payments and accounting solutions. QFE will retain its US loan book and finance product, but notes it will benefit from a newly established reseller agreement with Aiwyn.

4D Medical (ASX:4DX) closed 49% higher after sealing three deals to advance its global lung health push.

In Brazil, it has rolled out a screening program with a major pharma partner covering up to 10,000 scans.

Back home, Royal Melbourne Hospital will pilot 4DMedical’s full portfolio through 2025 — the first public hospital to do so. Meanwhile in NSW, Spectrum Medical Imaging signed a multi-year contract to deploy the company’s tech in the National Lung Cancer Screening Program through to 2027.

Memphasys (ASX:MEM) closed up 67% after inking a five-year exclusive commercial distribution deal with International Technical Legacy (ITL), a regional leader in the Middle East and North Africa in IVF services for its Felix male fertility sperm preparation system.

The deal has an initial minimum order value of $325,000 – automatically triggered once CE Mark approval is received – spanning 15 countries representing ~353 clinics performing ~140,000 IVF cycles annually.

ASX Laggards

Today’s worst performing stocks (including small caps):

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
JAY	Jayride Group	0.004	-27%	11,006,428	$7,853,390
DTI	DTI Group Ltd	0.006	-25%	4,889	$7,176,823
T3D	333D Limited	0.04	-20%	3,678,001	$9,442,691
MRQ	Mrg Metals Limited	0.004	-20%	1,820,230	$13,632,593
OEL	Otto Energy Limited	0.004	-20%	325,724	$23,975,049
TKL	Traka Resources	0.002	-20%	333,334	$6,055,348
XGL	Xamble Group Limited	0.023	-18%	664,000	$9,492,399
CP8	Canphosphateltd	0.054	-17%	26,357	$19,939,434
CCO	The Calmer Co Int	0.0025	-17%	821,431	$9,034,060
CYQ	Cycliq Group Ltd	0.005	-17%	1,002,515	$2,763,100
ERL	Empire Resources	0.005	-17%	1,462,162	$8,903,479
MOH	Moho Resources	0.005	-17%	6,929,060	$4,472,484
M3M	M3Mininglimited	0.027	-16%	442,330	$2,681,772
MYX	Mayne Pharma Ltd	4.49	-15%	2,121,486	$428,977,967
BLU	Blue Energy Limited	0.006	-14%	12,484,978	$12,956,815
SLZ	Sultan Resources Ltd	0.006	-14%	274,690	$1,827,585
NSB	Neuroscientific	0.16	-14%	798,341	$61,526,506
5GG	Pentanet	0.026	-13%	1,972,298	$12,995,150
MEG	Megado Minerals Ltd	0.026	-13%	433,895	$19,370,498
PRO	Prophecy Internation	0.3	-13%	170,327	$25,444,762
GML	Gateway Mining	0.055	-13%	8,063,675	$120,255,679
ALY	Alchemy Resource Ltd	0.007	-13%	2,176,175	$9,424,610
AVE	Avecho Biotech Ltd	0.007	-13%	4,492,429	$25,387,709
CTN	Catalina Resources	0.0035	-13%	19,072,930	$9,704,076
ID8	Identitii Limited	0.007	-13%	53,241	$6,224,108

In Case You Missed It

Imagion Biosystems (ASX:IBX) has begun manufacturing of its MagSense HER-2 imaging agent in preparation of a much-anticipated Phase 2 breast cancer trial set to begin later this year.

Theta Gold Mines (ASX:TGM) is heading into its next stage of life as a gold producer with a refreshed front bench of key operational and corporate experience ahead of an updated feasibility study revising its Transvaal Gold Mining Estates project in the wake of a record bull run.

West Wits Mining (ASX:WWI) has secured approval for a $19m loan facility to advance its Qala Shallows gold project in South Africa, enabling delivery of equipment as the company looks towards its first pour in Q1 of 2026.

Asra Minerals (ASX:ASR) has raised $3.25m from investors new and old, with its chairman and new technical director joining in a show of support for plans to quickly get the cash into the ground at its flagship Leonora gold projects.

Alterity Therapeutics (ASX:ATH) has raised $20m by way of strategic placement to Australian and international professional investors, strengthening the balance sheet to support its ongoing development of a lead drug candidate for a rare and rapidly progressive Parkinsonian disorder.

Orthocell (ASX:OCC) has released interim results from its Remplir Real World Evidence study demonstrating an overall treatment success rate of 81.1% across a variety of nerve repair procedures and confirming its collagen nerve wrap as ideal for connecting severed nerves.

A 30,000m Geopacific Resources (ASX:GPR) drilling program at its 1.67Moz Woodlark Gold Project in PNG continues to deliver, with standout new intercepts at Kamwak hinting at a potentially significant discovery.

Lode Resources (ASX:LDR) has struck its most highly endowed intercept yet at the Montezuma antimony and silver project in Tasmania, with assays returning eye-popping grades of up to 2,730g/t silver equivalent.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Felix Gold (ASX:FXG) has given senior representatives from the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council a tour of its Treasure Creek flagship in Alaska.

Felix showcased the high-level Federal reps a potential solution to antimony supply issues after China’s export bans, and executive director Joe Webb remarked the agencies provided feedback that Treasure Creek was one of the most infrastructure-ready and well-serviced near shovel-ready projects that they had visited.