The ASX 200 closed back above the 9,000-point threshold today, carried higher by the heavyweight Financials sector and a renewed surge in gold stocks. The benchmark index finished the session at 9,020.10, up 0.46%, reclaiming a level that has acted as a key psychological marker on route to snapping what was a three day losing streak.
The milestone, however, was overshadowed by two brutal stock-specific shocks, as Corporate Travel Management collapsed on its return from a year-long absence, and a sharp sell-off in Regis Healthcare after Canberra’s latest aged-care funding increase fell well short of industry cost pressures.
ASX Today: Leaders and Laggards
Financials did much of the heavy lifting, adding 0.86%, while Materials (XMJ) rose 0.39% and Industrials gained 0.43%. Energy was the notable laggard among the majors, retreating 1.24%.
Gold provided the day’s strongest tailwind, with spot prices back to US$4,420 an ounce. Southgold Consolidated CDIs (SX2) led the entire tape, jumping 8.13% to $12.24, while Resolute Mining (RSG) added 4.33% to $1.445, Bellevue Gold (BGL) rose 3.79% to $1.645, Ramelius Resources (RMS) gained 3.7% to $3.92 and Greatland Resources (GGP) climbed 3.69% to $11.51.
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Growth names also found support, with PYC Therapeutics (PYC) up 5.76% to $2.57, Block Inc CDIs (XYZ) advancing 4.49% to $113.16 and Life360 (360) adding 3.8% to $19.93.
The bottom of the table told a far darker story. Corporate Travel Management (CTD) closed out at $2.32, down $13.75, or 85.56%, from its last traded price of $16.07 before its suspension in August 2025. Regis Healthcare (REG) slumped 27.0% to $4.30, while Sunrise Energy Metals (SRL) fell 11.12% to $14.23, EQ Resources (EQR) dropped 7.79% to $0.355 and Liontown (LTR) shed 4.03% to $1.19.
Driving The Moves
Corporate Travel Management’s collapse marks the market’s first opportunity to price in an accounting scandal that has engulfed the company for much of the past year. The problems originated in the group’s UK and European division, where a forensic review by KPMG found revenue had been recognised incorrectly on large customer contracts completed between 2021 and 2023.
That included around £45.4 million sitting in a “Concluded Customer Contracts” account that should not have been recognised as revenue. The review initially identified £77.6 million in overcharges and accounting errors concentrated in the UK business, much of it tied to government contracts, before total discrepancies reportedly exceeded £118 million once a further £40.4 million of irregularities stretching back to FY2019 were uncovered.
At the heart of the issue, according to detailed analysis of the findings, was a breakdown in basic cash control: refunds received from airlines on cancelled services were allegedly retained and booked as revenue rather than passed back to clients, inflating reported earnings. Corporate Travel has indicated it may restate as much as £58.2 million across FY23 and FY24, with a further £19.4 million of adjustments flagged for FY25, alongside roughly £80 million of revenue tied to UK customer contracts that may need to be retracted. The company has spent the suspension period refunding customers, restating accounts and overhauling its financial controls.
Regis Healthcare’s decline was driven by policy rather than governance. Under the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC), the federal government lifted the starting price by just 2.55%, from A$295.64 to A$303.19 per resident per day, effective 1 October. That takes average funding from roughly A$317 to about A$325 per resident per day, an increase the sector argues is dwarfed by wage growth, inflation and mandated care requirements.
