What Matters Today: Budget winners & losers — The ASX stocks to buy or avoid right now

Morning report 14/05/2026 10:28

What Matters Today: Budget winners & losers — The ASX stocks to buy or avoid right now

The ASX 200 retreated for its fourth consecutive day on Wednesday, ending the post-budget session down 0.5%, courtesy of a -10.4% plunge by Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA), which took almost 100-points off an index that only closed down 40-points.

Afternoon report 13/05/2026 17:13

The Match Out: Federal Budget 2026 – What it means for Portfolio’s

The ASX slipped for a fourth straight session today as a sharp selloff in CBA following a softer quarterly weighed heavily on the broader market, with the market also digesting the implications of last night’s Federal Budget and its proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions.

Morning report 13/05/2026 09:45

Portfolio Positioning: Let’s get back to our knitting now the budget is behind us

The ASX 200 retreated 0.4% on Tuesday, ahead of the Albanese - Chalmers budget which had mostly been leaked. On the stock/sector level the story pretty much remained the same, with over 65% of the main board retreating and the miners unable to support the fragile ASX.

Afternoon report 12/05/2026 16:44

The Match Out: ASX softer ahead of the Budget, BHP hits record, tech sold off

The ASX was weaker today, with the market unable to follow a stronger offshore lead as investors turned more cautious ahead of tonight’s Federal Budget. Lots of leaks in recent days and suffice to say, this will be one of the more important budgets in recent memory with the ALP fiddling with capital gains tax.

Morning report 12/05/2026 09:54

What Matters Today: Is Copper the New Oil — And Australia’s Lucky Break?

The ASX 200 delivered another disappointing performance on Monday falling 0.5%, failing to embrace another record breaking session by US equities on Friday night. The day was dominated by another painful downgrade by CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL) which saw the biotech hit 16%, its largest ever 1-day fall, contributing over 70% of the days decline - such was its dramatic fall that it overtook talk of tonight’s budget on many trading desks.

Afternoon report 11/05/2026 17:13

The Match Out: ASX gets hit early but recovers ground, CSL whacked on 4th downgrade in a year

The ASX started the week on the back foot today on renewed concerns around the Middle East conflict after President Trump rejected Iran's latest peace proposal over the weekend sending oil prices higher again.

Morning report 11/05/2026 09:04

Macro Monday: Earnings, not social media posts, ultimately drive stocks

Outside of the post-COVID rebound, corporate America has just delivered one of its strongest earnings seasons in more than a decade. Approximately 85% of S&P 500 companies beat expectations, with the Magnificent Seven posting profit growth well in excess of 50%, providing the engine room for the broader rally.

Weekend report 09/05/2026 08:32

Weekend Q&A: The ASX continues to tread water while US tech stocks surge to new highs

The ASX200 experienced a choppy week, ultimately closing up +0.2% following Fridays triple-digit loss as tensions between the US and Iran took a turn for the worse. The local index was threatening to break out toward fresh highs on Thursday before yesterday’s -1.5% sell-off, leaving the market stuck in the 8600-9000 trading range where it’s now looked comfortable for more than a month. The rate-sensitive stocks continue to weigh on the ASX with retail and real estate continuing to drag the local index back despite the best efforts of the miners which saw the materials sector gain +4.3% through the week, with more set to come on Monday.

Afternoon report 08/05/2026 17:12

The Match Out: Peace trade unwinds as the ASX gives back the week’s gains

A tough day on the ASX today, with geopolitical risk firmly back in the driver's seat. Fresh US-Iran clashes in the Strait of Hormuz sent oil prices higher and unwound the peace trade that had supported market over the last few days.

Morning report 08/05/2026 09:32

ETF Friday: Four ASX ETFs that could attract the next wave of buying as investors look for value

The ASX200 delivered a second consecutive strong day, extending the weeks recovery from Tuesdays low to more than 3%. The gains were again spearheaded by the miners, on the back of stronger metal prices, with BHP Group (ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) on their own contributing 50% of the index’s move. The advance was more broad based than on Wednesday with over 70% of the main board closing higher.