The ASX200 clawed back early losses to finish marginally higher on Monday, up just 0.1%, after the Strait of Hormuz was effectively shut again almost as quickly as it had reopened. Another session where the market held its ground despite the weekend's escalation in Gulf tensions, and another reminder that investors have largely stopped reacting to each new headline with fresh conviction. The net result was more of the same: headline fatigue is well and truly setting in.
Friday delivered a textbook geopolitical whipsaw. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 surged to fresh record highs, and crude oil sold off sharply after Iran's Foreign Minister declared the Strait of Hormuz fully open for commercial traffic — markets breathed, algos bought, and risk was back on.
For a third consecutive session, the ASX 200 opened strongly above 9000 before falling away throughout the day, dragged lower by the influential banks - it must be reading the MM report this week! Such is the hefty influence of the banks that, although over 60% of the main board closed higher on Thursday, an average drop by the “Big Four Banks” of over 2% was enough to drag the index down by 0.3%. Under the hood, the markets following the MM script so far this week.
The ASX200 again drifted lower after a strong open to finish Wednesday's session up just +0.1% - closing above the psychological 9000 level is proving tough after the recent strong run. The banks were again the main drag on the index, with the “Big Four Banks” all closing down on the day, with Westpac’s -1.9% fall the standout following their Tuesday update. On the sector level, the tech names outperformed for a change, gaining +2.4% while the energy names took the wooden spoon, slipping -1.9%.
The ASX200 limped to a 45-point gain on Tuesday, after opening with a bang it surrendered more than 50% of its early gains as the banks came under pressure, courtesy of Westpac (ASX:WBC). From a points perspective it was very much a market of two halves with the two heavyweight market sectors pulling in opposing directions:
We felt the ASX200 delivered a solid performance on Monday given the weekend's disappointing developments out of Pakistan around the US-Iran war, and the headwind of weakening global futures throughout our session.
Global equities posted a solid rally last week, driven by hopes that the US-Iran ceasefire would fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz — removing a key inflation risk and clearing the path for global growth to regain momentum before any lasting economic damage was done.
The ASX 200 recovered from early losses to close up +0.2% on Thursday taking the market to its highest close since March 3rd, just as the Iran war broke out. Over 55% of the main board closed lower on the day but a strong session by the banks was enough to push the index higher, shrugging off steep losses across the software stocks after Anthropic launched Claude Managed Agents and Meta unveiled a new AI model - the “AI Disruption Trade” reared its head again causing indiscriminate selling in the local Tech stocks, sending the sector down another -6.5%.
The ASX200 surged out of the gates on Wednesday and held its gains throughout the session, closing up +2.6%, its strongest performance in a year, after news of a two-week US–Iran ceasefire sparked a global relief rally. Wednesdays rally was broad-based, with 88% of the main board closing higher and an impressive 19 names jumping by +10%, or more. From a points perspective the miners and banks again led the way with BHP and CBA contributing ~20% towards the days advance which took the ASX200 back within 3% of its all-time high.
The ASX200 closed up an impressive +1.7% on Tuesday although it was well off its mid-morning high where at its best it was up 225-points, or 2.6%. All 11 sectors ended higher, lifting the market to its highest close since mid-March, with the influential banks and miners leading the charge, BHP and CBA alone accounted for ~35% of the day’s gains.
Friday delivered a textbook geopolitical whipsaw. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 surged to fresh record highs, and crude oil sold off sharply after Iran's Foreign Minister declared the Strait of Hormuz fully open for commercial traffic — markets breathed, algos bought, and risk was back on.
For a third consecutive session, the ASX 200 opened strongly above 9000 before falling away throughout the day, dragged lower by the influential banks - it must be reading the MM report this week! Such is the hefty influence of the banks that, although over 60% of the main board closed higher on Thursday, an average drop by the “Big Four Banks” of over 2% was enough to drag the index down by 0.3%. Under the hood, the markets following the MM script so far this week.
The ASX200 again drifted lower after a strong open to finish Wednesday's session up just +0.1% - closing above the psychological 9000 level is proving tough after the recent strong run. The banks were again the main drag on the index, with the “Big Four Banks” all closing down on the day, with Westpac’s -1.9% fall the standout following their Tuesday update. On the sector level, the tech names outperformed for a change, gaining +2.4% while the energy names took the wooden spoon, slipping -1.9%.
The ASX200 limped to a 45-point gain on Tuesday, after opening with a bang it surrendered more than 50% of its early gains as the banks came under pressure, courtesy of Westpac (ASX:WBC). From a points perspective it was very much a market of two halves with the two heavyweight market sectors pulling in opposing directions:
We felt the ASX200 delivered a solid performance on Monday given the weekend's disappointing developments out of Pakistan around the US-Iran war, and the headwind of weakening global futures throughout our session.
Global equities posted a solid rally last week, driven by hopes that the US-Iran ceasefire would fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz — removing a key inflation risk and clearing the path for global growth to regain momentum before any lasting economic damage was done.
The ASX 200 recovered from early losses to close up +0.2% on Thursday taking the market to its highest close since March 3rd, just as the Iran war broke out. Over 55% of the main board closed lower on the day but a strong session by the banks was enough to push the index higher, shrugging off steep losses across the software stocks after Anthropic launched Claude Managed Agents and Meta unveiled a new AI model - the “AI Disruption Trade” reared its head again causing indiscriminate selling in the local Tech stocks, sending the sector down another -6.5%.
The ASX200 surged out of the gates on Wednesday and held its gains throughout the session, closing up +2.6%, its strongest performance in a year, after news of a two-week US–Iran ceasefire sparked a global relief rally. Wednesdays rally was broad-based, with 88% of the main board closing higher and an impressive 19 names jumping by +10%, or more. From a points perspective the miners and banks again led the way with BHP and CBA contributing ~20% towards the days advance which took the ASX200 back within 3% of its all-time high.
The ASX200 closed up an impressive +1.7% on Tuesday although it was well off its mid-morning high where at its best it was up 225-points, or 2.6%. All 11 sectors ended higher, lifting the market to its highest close since mid-March, with the influential banks and miners leading the charge, BHP and CBA alone accounted for ~35% of the day’s gains.
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