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First Up

UPDATED 06/06/2026 09:08

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Have a great long weekend, everyone – a reminder: there will be no MM Reports on Monday.

The ASX200 ended the week on the back foot, retreating by 0.6%, extending the weekly decline to 1.2%. The first week of June delivered some noticeable performance reversion, with the local tech sector soaring by +7.7% while the heavyweight Financials (-2.1%) and Materials (-2.4%) sectors weighed on the broader market. The ASX was devoid of good news last week, with a resolution to the US-Iran war not getting any closer, iron ore falling back toward $US100/MT, and the softening Australian property market continuing to weigh on real estate and banking stocks.

The winners’ enclosure last week was dominated by the previously beleaguered software stocks that had been suffering from fear of “AI disruption”; we’ve gone from SaaSocalypse to SaaSurrection in the blink of an eye. The losers’ enclosure was more of an eclectic bunch with a noticeable twist of gold stocks.

Winners: Pro Medicus (ASX: PME) +25%, Megaport (ASX: MP1) +23%, SRG Global (ASX: SRG) +22%, Life360 (ASX: 360) +14%, Treasury Wine (ASX: TWE) +11%, WiseTech Global (ASX: WTC) +11%, SiteMinder (ASX: SDR) +10%, and Technology One (ASX: TP1) +7%.

Losers: DroneShield (ASX: DRO) -16%, Vulcan Energy (ASX: VUL) -15%, Temple & Webster (ASX: TPW) -14%, Lovisa (ASX: LOV) -12%, Resolute Mining (ASX: RSG) -12%, Liontown (ASX: LTR) -12%, Dominos Pizza (ASX: DMP) -11%, and Capricorn Metals (ASX: CMM) -10%.

Weekly snapshot: The standout last week, as we entered June, was bargain hunting in the beaten-up ASX Tech Sector while confidence in a resolution to the US – Iran War floundered.

The week commenced in a lacklustre fashion, although a number of the high-profile tech stocks surged between 7-11%.
Rate-sensitive stocks came under pressure on Tuesday after the Fair Work Commission approved a larger-than-expected 4.75% wage increase, raising concerns of further rate hikes in the coming year.
Conversely, softer-than-expected growth data on Wednesday helped ease some of Tuesday’s concerns, with Australia’s 1Q GDP expanding just 0.3%, down from 0.9% in Q4 2025 and below market expectations.
Thursday saw selling gather momentum, especially in the miners, after missile strikes between the US and Iran reignited worries around economic growth.
Again on Friday, we saw investors reduce exposure to the miners, moving to a more defensive stance, positioning that’s likely to look good on Tuesday, when the ASX reopens.

In the week ahead, the US CPI on Wednesday is likely to be the key event. A soft print reopens the software and growth trade; conversely, a hot number following Friday night’s strong jobs report will reinforce concerns that the Fed will hike this year, weighing on the rate-sensitive sectors.

Overseas markets were hit hard overnight, following a stronger than expected May jobs report, with the US adding 172,000 to non-farm payrolls and marking the strongest three-month advance in more than two years, sending bond yields sharply higher; the US 2-year yield was up 10bps to 4.15% as traders lifted bets the Fed’s next interest-rate move will be a hike.

In the US, the NASDAQ had its worst day since April 2025, falling -4.8%, while the Dow fared better, only retreating 1.4%. In Europe, which missed much of the weakness on Wall Street, the EURO STOXX 50 retreated 0.7% and the French CAC 0.3%.