ASX 200 Live Today - Tuesday, 2nd September

Welcome to our live ASX coverage for Tuesday, September 2. We’re excited to trial this new format. Expect a high volume of posts pre-market and more periodic updates throughout the day. Today's live blog will wrap up around 12:00 pm AEST. Be sure to refresh manually for the latest updates — and let us know how we can make it even better.

DUG Technologies rallies on multi-year award

[11:42 am] DUG Technology, in partnership with Cegal, has been awarded a 3-year letter of award from Petronas with a minimum total contract value of US$23.8 million (~A$36.3m), under which DUG will provide dedicated compute and storage capacity plus access to its Insight processing and imaging toolkit.

The LoA has the option to extend for a further two years at Petronas's discretion.

DUG shares opened 13.9% ($1.80) higher this morning, and rallied as much as 25.9% ($1.99) in early trade.

Telix continues to slide

[11:37 am] Telix can't catch a break, having suffered two notable gap downs in recent weeks, driven by a higher-than-expected R&D guidance and an unexpected Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the FDA.

The stock is currently down 5.5% ($14.09) on Tuesday, and down 25% in the last four trading sessions.

Last week, Telix received a CRL from the FDA regarding its Biologics License Applications (BLA) for TLX250-CDx. The CRL requested additional data to confirm comparability between clinical trial and commercial drug products.

Telix hosted a regulatory update call, which noted:

• Type A meeting expected within a few weeks to address CRL issues and likely confirmed within 30 days of submission

• BLA for TLX250-CDx to be resubmitted after addressing CRL issues using analytical and clinical comparability data

• No major delays anticipated from new data collection with FDA review potentially expedited due to breakthrough therapy designation

• FY26 R&D spend expected to grow with revenue and alternative suppliers may be considered if third-party deficiencies persist

Gold is on the cusp of US$3,500

[11:34 am] Gold is having a crack at US$3,500 again, currently trading at US$3,497.

Prices briefly tagged the US$3,500 mark on 22 April, but quickly reversed those gains to close sharply lower at US$3,376.

ASX 200 gainers and losers in early trade

[10:44 am] Gold stocks topped the leaderboards this morning, while Telix, Bendigo Bank and Woolworths continued to sell off on recent updates/earnings.

Polynovo shares surge on US Medicare changes

[10:35 am] Polynovo shares rallied as much as 24% in early trade, currently up 12.9% ($1.48) after the US Medicare proposal to introduce a flat $806 per square inch reimbursement for outpatient skin substitute.

The company said its its NovoSorb BTM and MTX products remain profitable under the changes, which seeks to remove economic incentives for higher-cost products, could reduce competitor presence and shift physician choice toward proven clinical outcomes.

A final decision is expected in November, with implementation from 1 January 2026.

Iperionx accelerates US titanium buildout

[9:37 am] Iperionx has increased the nameplate titanium powder capacity at its Virginia manufacturing plant by 60% to 200 metric tons per annum, driven by operational and technology process improvements, with no additional capex.

The company expects projected titanium powder unit costs fall to ~$55/kg at full utilisation, down from prior estimate $75/kg, with a positive EBITDA inflection point by year-end 2026.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Iperionx (IPX)

Black Cat set to become the market's next gold producer

[9:04 am] Black Cat Syndicate says mining has commenced at its Majestic underground mine, which forms part of the 100% owned Kal East Gold Operation in Kalgoorlie, WA.

First ore from Majestic is on track to be delivered in the December quarter 2025.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Black Cat Syndicate (BC8)

Collins Foods trading update

[9:00 am] Collins Foods held its AGM today, which featured a trading update for the first 18 weeks of FY26.

• Total company sales in the first 18 weeks are up 6.7% on the prior corresponding period, driven by same store sales growth in all markets.

• KFC total sales were up +5.1% in Australia, +4.8% in the Netherlands and +8.4% in Germany.

• KFC same store sales growth for the same period was +2.3% in Australia, +1.2% in the Netherlands and +5.8% in Germany.

• Reaffirmed FY26 underlying NPAT growth in the low to mid-teens.

For context, Collins Food reported its FY25 earnings on 24 June, with underlying NPAT down 15% year-on-year to $51 million (but a 15% beat vs. $42 million consensus). This was driven by a better-than-feared performance in Europe and turnaround in Australian markets (from -1.1% in the first half to +0.1% in the second half).

Today's trading update reads well, with total sales up 6.7% in the first 18 weeks vs. UBS expectations of 4.8% for FY26.

Source: ASX Announcement | Company page: Collins Foods (CKF)

Australia raises wheat forecast

[8:49 am] Australia's 2025 wheat crop is forecast to hit 33.8 million tonnes, up 10% from the previous June estimate, supported by stronger-than-expected winter rainfall.

Key takeaways from the Bloomberg article include:

• Total grains output forecast at 62m tons, a 12% increase from June and 26% above the 10-year average.

• Forecasts also revised higher to 14.6m tons barley and 6.4m tons canola, pointing to broad-based crop resilience across key grain types.

• Above-average rainfall in Western Australia, Victoria and South Australia has sharply lifted expectations after a weak start to the season.

• WA alone seen producing 12.7m tons, higher than the 11.5m ton estimate from the state industry body.

• The outlook for favourable spring weather is expected to further enhance crop development and yield potential, suggesting upside risk to already strong estimates.

This could be a positive driver for a name like Graincorp. The company's latest guidance was from 15 May, where its 2025 NPAT guidance was upgraded to $65-95 million. Though management still flagged some uncertainty for the 2025-26 east coast winter crop: “In contrast, parts of Victoria and Southern NSW have received below-average rainfall, creating a more variable outlook for cropping conditions. Autumn and winter rain will be important for growers."

Source: Bloomberg

Stocks trading ex-dividend today

[8:43 am] Another heavy day of stocks trading ex-dividend, including:

• Tue 2 Sep: Apiam Animal Health (AHX) – $0.01, Alliance Aviation Services (AQZ) – $0.03, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (BEN) – $0.33, Codan Ltd (CDA) – $0.16, Domino's (DMP) – $0.215, Endeavour Group (EDV) – $0.063, EQT Holdings (EQT) – $0.56, Iluka Resources (ILU) – $0.02, Lynch Group Holdings (LGL) – $0.09, MA Financial Group (MAF) – $0.06, Northern Star Resources (NST) – $0.30, Peter Warren Automotive Holdings (PWR) – $0.04, Praemium Ltd (PPS) – $0.013, Prime Financial Group (PFG) – $0.009, Ramsay Health Care (RHC) – $0.40, Santos Ltd (STO) – $0.209, Sequoia Financial Group (SEQ) – $0.02, Shaver Shop Group (SSG) – $0.055, Sigma Healthcare (SIG) – $0.013, Sonic Healthcare (SHL) – $0.63, Southern Cross Media Group (SXL) – $0.04, Tribeca Global Natural Resources (TGF) – $0.05, Universal Store Holdings (UNI) – $0.165, Wesfarmers Ltd (WES) – $1.11, Whitehaven Coal (WHC) – $0.06, Woolworths Group (WOW) – $0.45, Worley Ltd (WOR) – $0.25

Good morning!

[8:30 am] ASX 200 futures are down 8pts (-0.09%). The US market was closed overnight for Labour Day, while European stocks finished slightly higher (FTSE +0.1%, DAX +0.5%, CAC +0.05%, STOXX 600 +0.2%).

If you’re new to the blog – catch up quick via today’s Morning Wrap.