Last week's wild gyrations on Wall Street shook investor confidence, but amazingly, US stocks wiped out early losses to deliver their best weekly gain since 2023. The Fear Index (VIX) spiked towards 60 on Monday before dropping to about 37 on Friday afternoon as relative calm returned to markets—a good sign into the weekend when posts can fly on X.
Financial markets went into “Panic Mode” on Friday night after China’s commerce ministry announced a 34% tariff on all U.S. products, disappointing investors who had hoped countries would negotiate with Trump. Xi Jinping has reacted “harder and faster” than markets expected, causing markets to plunge in a matter of seconds as fears of a Global Trade War escalated. Our take is Trump may be out of his depth; this is not a property deal. This feels like the US (Trump) versus the rest of the world! Selling intensified into the close on the fear, as we go into the weekend, that the trade war will escalate when the markets are closed, and the US doesn’t back down; it is very hard to see the US obtaining a good result from here, and Trump keeping face.
The ASX 200 enjoyed another positive week, although it will face a tough start on Monday following Friday's weakness in the US where the market was hit ~2%. On the sector front, there were some very different performances, with the finance sector gaining +2.6% while the tech names tumbled 3.3%.
However, it was gold stocks that shone brightly as the precious metal surged another $US60, taking its gain in 2025 to over $US450, or 18%. Combined with a better week for the heavyweight iron ore miners, it was enough to help the Materials sector close higher again, albeit just. On the stock front, the winners and losers were very clearly defined:
It was a better week for local stocks, with the ASX 200 bouncing 1.8% on broad-based gains, which saw all 11 major sectors advance, led by an unusual combination of consumer staples and energy stocks. Following a tough four weeks, the Australian share market notched its best weekly positive performance of 2025, but with new tariffs due on April 2nd, it could still become the calm before the storm. The lack of fresh tariff news and encouraging developments on the interest rate front was enough to “stop the rot” in equity land, but how the market deals with the next wave of bad news will tell us the real story.
It was another tough week for local stocks, with the ASX200 closing down another 2%, extending the aggressive pullback to 10.2%, the market's largest 4-week decline since 2020. Eight of the eleven mainboard sectors declined, spearheaded by the tech, healthcare, consumer discretionary, and financial sectors, all of which fell over 3%. Performance reversion was again the main game in town, with the resources performing well at the expense of many high-flyers over the last year.
Friday's sharp 1.8% sell-off compounded what had already been a tough few weeks for local stocks. Last week saw the ASX200 accelerate lower, extending its decline from its mid-February high to 7.8%. Much of the damage was inflicted by the outperforming, high-value stocks that have driven markets over the last two years, such as banks, retailers and tech stocks.
Friday's sharp 1.2% sell-off compounded what had already been a tough February for local stocks. The ASX200 ended the month down 4.2%, with the Financials, Energy, Real Estate, Healthcare, and Tech sectors all falling over 5%. The defensives stood out in the winner's enclosure, with the Utilities +2.7% and Consumer Staples +1.5%, reducing the market's decline. The market's drop was its largest one-month decline since September 2022, as all the statistics aligned to paint a pretty average picture for investors, although we are still up for 2025, albeit just. On the stock level, the major movers were dictated by reporting season; next week should be back to normal, although we do still have Trump and an election looming:
Last week saw the ASX200 post its worst week since September 2022, falling over 3%, as soft earnings in key areas, such as the influential banking sector, more than offset an improvement in the mining sector. Friday's 0.3% fall was the market's fifth consecutive losing day, its largest five-day point and percentage decline since early August.
Last week, the ASX200 climbed +0.5%, notching fresh highs on Thursday and Friday. However, on both occasions, the market surrendered most of the day's gains by the close. It was a mixed affair on the sector front, with the Industrials +2.9 % and consumer staples +2.4% leading the line while the healthcare -3.8% and energy stocks -1.1% took the open spoon. However, the real action unfolded on the stock level as is typical during reporting season:
The ASX200 slipped slightly in the first week of February ending down -0.24% with the healthcare and utilities sectors weighing on the market while the tech and materials stocks helped limit losses. It was an overall turbulent week for stocks as earnings season kicks into gear. The prospect of lower interest rates, trade war jitters and resilient consumer spending added to the day-to-day volatility. Local shares closed out the week flat with a negative tilt as traders remained cautious ahead of the US Payrolls report, which will influence the Fed's decision on interest rate cuts.
Financial markets went into “Panic Mode” on Friday night after China’s commerce ministry announced a 34% tariff on all U.S. products, disappointing investors who had hoped countries would negotiate with Trump. Xi Jinping has reacted “harder and faster” than markets expected, causing markets to plunge in a matter of seconds as fears of a Global Trade War escalated. Our take is Trump may be out of his depth; this is not a property deal. This feels like the US (Trump) versus the rest of the world! Selling intensified into the close on the fear, as we go into the weekend, that the trade war will escalate when the markets are closed, and the US doesn’t back down; it is very hard to see the US obtaining a good result from here, and Trump keeping face.
The ASX 200 enjoyed another positive week, although it will face a tough start on Monday following Friday's weakness in the US where the market was hit ~2%. On the sector front, there were some very different performances, with the finance sector gaining +2.6% while the tech names tumbled 3.3%.
However, it was gold stocks that shone brightly as the precious metal surged another $US60, taking its gain in 2025 to over $US450, or 18%. Combined with a better week for the heavyweight iron ore miners, it was enough to help the Materials sector close higher again, albeit just. On the stock front, the winners and losers were very clearly defined:
It was a better week for local stocks, with the ASX 200 bouncing 1.8% on broad-based gains, which saw all 11 major sectors advance, led by an unusual combination of consumer staples and energy stocks. Following a tough four weeks, the Australian share market notched its best weekly positive performance of 2025, but with new tariffs due on April 2nd, it could still become the calm before the storm. The lack of fresh tariff news and encouraging developments on the interest rate front was enough to “stop the rot” in equity land, but how the market deals with the next wave of bad news will tell us the real story.
It was another tough week for local stocks, with the ASX200 closing down another 2%, extending the aggressive pullback to 10.2%, the market's largest 4-week decline since 2020. Eight of the eleven mainboard sectors declined, spearheaded by the tech, healthcare, consumer discretionary, and financial sectors, all of which fell over 3%. Performance reversion was again the main game in town, with the resources performing well at the expense of many high-flyers over the last year.
Friday's sharp 1.8% sell-off compounded what had already been a tough few weeks for local stocks. Last week saw the ASX200 accelerate lower, extending its decline from its mid-February high to 7.8%. Much of the damage was inflicted by the outperforming, high-value stocks that have driven markets over the last two years, such as banks, retailers and tech stocks.
Friday's sharp 1.2% sell-off compounded what had already been a tough February for local stocks. The ASX200 ended the month down 4.2%, with the Financials, Energy, Real Estate, Healthcare, and Tech sectors all falling over 5%. The defensives stood out in the winner's enclosure, with the Utilities +2.7% and Consumer Staples +1.5%, reducing the market's decline. The market's drop was its largest one-month decline since September 2022, as all the statistics aligned to paint a pretty average picture for investors, although we are still up for 2025, albeit just. On the stock level, the major movers were dictated by reporting season; next week should be back to normal, although we do still have Trump and an election looming:
Last week saw the ASX200 post its worst week since September 2022, falling over 3%, as soft earnings in key areas, such as the influential banking sector, more than offset an improvement in the mining sector. Friday's 0.3% fall was the market's fifth consecutive losing day, its largest five-day point and percentage decline since early August.
Last week, the ASX200 climbed +0.5%, notching fresh highs on Thursday and Friday. However, on both occasions, the market surrendered most of the day's gains by the close. It was a mixed affair on the sector front, with the Industrials +2.9 % and consumer staples +2.4% leading the line while the healthcare -3.8% and energy stocks -1.1% took the open spoon. However, the real action unfolded on the stock level as is typical during reporting season:
The ASX200 slipped slightly in the first week of February ending down -0.24% with the healthcare and utilities sectors weighing on the market while the tech and materials stocks helped limit losses. It was an overall turbulent week for stocks as earnings season kicks into gear. The prospect of lower interest rates, trade war jitters and resilient consumer spending added to the day-to-day volatility. Local shares closed out the week flat with a negative tilt as traders remained cautious ahead of the US Payrolls report, which will influence the Fed's decision on interest rate cuts.
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