James Hardie (JHX)

20/05/2026

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Morning report 25/05/2026

Macro Monday: Markets are pricing an imminent deal

Over the weekend, President Donald Trump said a peace agreement with Iran had been “largely negotiated” and indicated a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could be announced shortly. Iran also signalled negotiations were progressing, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there may be “some good news” on the key shipping route in the coming hours, raising hopes the conflict may finally be moving toward de-escalation.

Weekend report 23/05/2026

Weekend Q&A: Soft Australian employment data questions the path of the RBA

The ASX200 needed a storming return to form on Thursday & Friday to end the week up just +0.3%, as news around the US-Iran War finally supported local stocks. The choppy week saw early negative sentiment push the index down to a fresh 7-week low, testing below the 8500 level before some bargain hunting returned. The major miners led the market's recovery, reflecting an improvement in risk appetite given the sector’s strong leverage to global growth expectations, although both BHP Group (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) still finished the week modestly lower.