The ASX 200 finished a volatile week up +0.2%, almost as if Thursdays ~2% plunge to fresh four month lows didn’t exist. The weekly change masked significant volatility as investors digested the RBA’s fourth rate hike of 2026 alongside softer-than-expected inflation data. Technology was the standout sector, surging 7.3%, while the dominant theme remained interest rates, with the cash rate reaching a 15-year high of 4.6%, although softer CPI and Governor Bullock’s subsequent comments tempered expectations for further tightening.
The ASX 200 slipped 0.1% last week, its 3rd consecutive weekly decline, but a welcome relief from the aggressive selling earlier in the month. With the Fed rate hike behind us, attention switched to the RBA on the 29th as rising bond yields continue to weigh on risk assets. We anticipate further weakness in the coming week (s), but the index is slowly gaining an air of a market “looking for a low.”
The ASX 200 fell 2.9% last week, extending the month's decline to 3.7% - we did warn members that September is the historically weakest month of the year! For reference, the worst-performing September of the last decade was 2022, when bond yields also surged higher, and that year the index closed down 7.3%.
The ASX 200 slipped 1% last week, with several major names trading ex-dividend, while sharp falls across Technology (-5.2%) and the influential miners (-4.6%) more than offset a return to the winners’ enclosure for Financials (+2%). The market remains in a holding pattern, which we feel is encouraging considering the macro and geopolitical headwinds from rising long-term bond yields to renewed private credit concerns after Bathla Group’s collapse and continued uncertainty around the next twist in the US-Iran conflict.
The ASX 200 edged +0.37% higher last week courtesy of a strong close on Friday afternoon and another strong performance from the Materials sector (+2.5%). Earnings season remained broadly constructive, with estimated profit growth running at ~11%, although the improvement remains heavily concentrated in resources and energy, stripping those sectors out reduces growth to around ~5%. Financials have now fallen for three consecutive weeks amid housing and mortgage concerns, while Consumer Discretionary also struggled as higher rates and slowing housing activity weighed on earnings & sentiment following this week’s higher than expected CPI.
The ASX 200 slipped 0.6% last week despite stellar gains by the healthcare (+9.2%) and materials (+5.6%) sectors, as the “Big Four Banks” continued to weigh heavily on the local index. We're three weeks into August and reporting season is going “ok”, but the polarisation between the miners and banks remains entrenched: the miners are rallying with strength in copper and gold while the banks are struggling, being hit with the trifecta of a crunch in housing activity, net interest margin compression, and rising risks of bad debts - as Led Zeppelin famously sang in the 70’s “The Song Remains the Same.”
The ASX 200 fell 1.6% last week, testing 9100 on Friday after threatening to break above 9300 on Tuesday. While the early read from local earnings seasons failed to match their US peers, it was the influential banks and miners that combined to drag the index lower - for the week, heavyweights CBA (-6.1%), Westpac (-6.8%), BHP Group (-2.6%), and RIO Tinto (-5.7%) all weighed on the local bourse.
The ASX 200 finished a strong week up +3.2%, posting new highs on three of the five sessions. August is only one full week old, and the local market has already surged towards 9300 with no end in sight as the miners continue to drive the index higher. Monday is set to deliver a repeat performance as a soft US jobs report dulled the prospects of Fed rate hikes, pushing the miners and, in particular, gold names substantially higher after the precious metal surged over US$100.
The ASX 200 finished a volatile week up +2.3%, reaching a four-month high on Wednesday after softer-than-expected inflation data reduced fears of higher interest rates. The ASX shrugged off a sharp pullback earlier in the week by the “AI Trade” and a 1150-point drop by the Dow on Wednesday night after hawkish comments from Fed Chair Warsh - as we’ve been saying through July, the local market is slowly starting to get its “Mojo” back as we head into reporting season.
The ASX 200 slipped 0.1% last week, its 3rd consecutive weekly decline, but a welcome relief from the aggressive selling earlier in the month. With the Fed rate hike behind us, attention switched to the RBA on the 29th as rising bond yields continue to weigh on risk assets. We anticipate further weakness in the coming week (s), but the index is slowly gaining an air of a market “looking for a low.”
The ASX 200 fell 2.9% last week, extending the month's decline to 3.7% - we did warn members that September is the historically weakest month of the year! For reference, the worst-performing September of the last decade was 2022, when bond yields also surged higher, and that year the index closed down 7.3%.
The ASX 200 slipped 1% last week, with several major names trading ex-dividend, while sharp falls across Technology (-5.2%) and the influential miners (-4.6%) more than offset a return to the winners’ enclosure for Financials (+2%). The market remains in a holding pattern, which we feel is encouraging considering the macro and geopolitical headwinds from rising long-term bond yields to renewed private credit concerns after Bathla Group’s collapse and continued uncertainty around the next twist in the US-Iran conflict.
The ASX 200 edged +0.37% higher last week courtesy of a strong close on Friday afternoon and another strong performance from the Materials sector (+2.5%). Earnings season remained broadly constructive, with estimated profit growth running at ~11%, although the improvement remains heavily concentrated in resources and energy, stripping those sectors out reduces growth to around ~5%. Financials have now fallen for three consecutive weeks amid housing and mortgage concerns, while Consumer Discretionary also struggled as higher rates and slowing housing activity weighed on earnings & sentiment following this week’s higher than expected CPI.
The ASX 200 slipped 0.6% last week despite stellar gains by the healthcare (+9.2%) and materials (+5.6%) sectors, as the “Big Four Banks” continued to weigh heavily on the local index. We're three weeks into August and reporting season is going “ok”, but the polarisation between the miners and banks remains entrenched: the miners are rallying with strength in copper and gold while the banks are struggling, being hit with the trifecta of a crunch in housing activity, net interest margin compression, and rising risks of bad debts - as Led Zeppelin famously sang in the 70’s “The Song Remains the Same.”
The ASX 200 fell 1.6% last week, testing 9100 on Friday after threatening to break above 9300 on Tuesday. While the early read from local earnings seasons failed to match their US peers, it was the influential banks and miners that combined to drag the index lower - for the week, heavyweights CBA (-6.1%), Westpac (-6.8%), BHP Group (-2.6%), and RIO Tinto (-5.7%) all weighed on the local bourse.
The ASX 200 finished a strong week up +3.2%, posting new highs on three of the five sessions. August is only one full week old, and the local market has already surged towards 9300 with no end in sight as the miners continue to drive the index higher. Monday is set to deliver a repeat performance as a soft US jobs report dulled the prospects of Fed rate hikes, pushing the miners and, in particular, gold names substantially higher after the precious metal surged over US$100.
The ASX 200 finished a volatile week up +2.3%, reaching a four-month high on Wednesday after softer-than-expected inflation data reduced fears of higher interest rates. The ASX shrugged off a sharp pullback earlier in the week by the “AI Trade” and a 1150-point drop by the Dow on Wednesday night after hawkish comments from Fed Chair Warsh - as we’ve been saying through July, the local market is slowly starting to get its “Mojo” back as we head into reporting season.
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