Evening Wrap: ASX 200 closes at lowest since June as tech, lithium and wealth platforms sink

In a nutshell:

• The ASX 200 closed at its lowest level since June in a quiet, holiday-thinned session, with Tech, Real Estate and Discretionary all falling deeper into correction territory

• The Trump-Xi summit's two-month truce extension fell short of the six months some had hoped for, and very light on details, leaving APEC in Shenzhen in November as the next chance for agreements

• Lithium miners slumped as Chinese carbonate futures extended their slide, while Netwealth and wealth platform peers were sold off after a First Guardian class action

Let's dive in

• ASX 200 closed at its lowest since 12 June, down 6.5% since 6 August and 0.6% year-to-date

• It was an uneventful session, with light corporate newsflow and a Melbourne public holiday

• The Trump-Xi summit was high on pageantry but light on deliverables. The Hang Seng fell 1.3%, Shanghai Composite down 1.2%, with a two-month trade truce extension short of some expectations of six months. The next chance for agreements is APEC in Shenzhen on 18–19 November

• The path of least resistance remains lower against a challenging macro backdrop, with US and Australian 10-year yields above 5%, Brent above US$100 a barrel and rate hike expectations still rising

• Plenty of sectors have rolled over. Tech, Real Estate and Discretionary are down 15–18% in four weeks, Telcos are down 11% since 10 August and even the slow-moving Utilities sector has lost 5% in five sessions. It's hard to find much short-term inspiration

A few stocks of interest today:

• Healius (+5.5%) opened 16.6% higher after agreeing to sell Agilex Biolabs to Novotech for $160m, or 19.8x FY26 EBITDA. The sale leaves Healius in net cash, from net debt of $32.8m at the FY26 result, but management didn't explicitly commit to returning the proceeds. The price was also at the lower end of the $150–200m reportedly sought and, as Macquarie noted in August, removes the group's highest-margin and fastest-growing business. Anyone who bought the open hoping for a capital return is now down about 10%

• Netwealth (-8.1%), Hub24 (-4.3%) and Praemium (-3.5%) were sold off after Netwealth said two of its subsidiaries had been served with a class action over First Guardian investment options. The sector is suffering a broad de-rate and charts look very ugly and oversold. Netwealth at its lowest since February 2024 and down 34% year-to-date

• A sea of red for lithium names as Chinese lithium carbonate futures fell 4.8% to 124,420 yuan a tonne, down 40% from May's high of 209,880 yuan. Bellwether PLS Group hit a fresh year-to-date low and is now 43% below its 1 June record high

• Tuas (-0.5%) has been one of the more intriguing movers this week. It fell 23% on Wednesday as regulatory concerns overshadowed a solid FY26 result, leaving the $1.78 stock with about $1.00 a share in cash backing. It then rallied 9.2% early on Thursday before closing flat, and rose 5.8% early today before closing 0.5% lower. That looks like a battle between retail buyers and institutions forced to sell on regulatory concerns

No major economic announcements.