Proactive's Tylah Tully provides a market wrap for October 2.
The ASX saw little overall movement, initially dipping to 8,180 points before recovering slightly, closing down by 0.13% at 8,198.2 points. Over the last five days, the index gained 0.88% and is 1.06% below its 52-week high.
Top performers of the day included Sigma Healthcare, which rose by 7.93% to trade just over $1.90, and Karoon Energy, up 7.5%, closing at $1.64. Vault Minerals was the worst performer, down 4.48% at $0.32 per share, followed by Megaport, which declined 3.32%, closing at $7.29.
Only three sectors ended the day higher, with Energy leading the gains, up 2.35%. Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology sectors both saw declines, down 1.73% and 1.58%, respectively.
In global economics, geopolitical tensions, particularly missile strikes by Iran on Israel, have pushed investors toward gold, which surged by more than $30 during the day. Gold now sits just $7 away from last week's record high. Analysts note that the situation is fluid, and market reactions could change depending on developments in the Middle East.