Macro Monday: Dr Copper surges higher. Can Iron Ore mirror the move?

Copper was the shining light in an otherwise tough week for local stocks, with the industrial metal surging almost 6%, testing 12-month highs in the process. Ironically, the advance coincided with iron ore making fresh 7-month lows, with the divergence between two of Australia’s most important exports certainly garnering plenty of attention. Iron ore has slipped over 30% since early January as Beijing fails to lift hopes around the health of their construction industry, leading to loss-making steel mills buying less ore and creating stockpiles at Chinese ports.

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Alerts 25/02/2026 09:58

Trade Alerts – Active Growth & Income Portfolios

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Morning report 25/02/2026 09:44

Portfolio Positioning: BHP and fellow miners keep dragging the ASX towards new all-time highs

The ASX200 closed flat on Tuesday despite less than 40% of the main board advancing. The story at the stock/sector level remained the same, with miners and banks offsetting losses across the broader market. BHP, Westpac and NAB added 24 points to the index. BHP, often referred to as the Big Australian, made new all-time highs on Tuesday, trading above $55 for the first time while it reported strongly this month, its starting to remind us of the feeding frenzy where ETF and momentum buyers drove CBA towards $200 in the first half of 2025:

Afternoon report 24/02/2026 17:19

The Match Out: Benign index move masks underlying volatility

Morning report 24/02/2026 09:43

What Matters Today: Three Companies that missed the mark, but has the market hit them too hard?

The ASX200 wobbled on Monday, as was largely expected, following Trump's tariff tantrum over the weekend, which created uncertainty around US trade policy. The local bourse slipped 0.6%, with over 70% of the main board retreating, but another strong session from the miners stemmed the losses, with heavyweight BHP again posting a fresh all-time high, closing up +19% year-to-date.

Afternoon report 23/02/2026 17:30

The Match Out: US Tariff hike shrugged off early, selling intensifies through the session

The ASX drifted lower as renewed uncertainty around US trade policy weighed on risk appetite, while gold extended its rally. Markets reacted to the US Supreme Court curbing President Trump’s tariff powers, prompting him to flag a temporary 15% blanket tariff on imports. The policy whiplash lifted safe havens, pushed the Aussie dollar towards US70.9c, and reignited selling pressure in technology.

Morning report 23/02/2026 09:25

Macro Monday: Don’t panic around Trumps 15% tariffs

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Weekend report 21/02/2026 10:11

Weekend Q&A: Markets hang around all-time highs as Trump’s tariffs are thrown into limbo

It was another bruising but ultimately constructive week for Australian equities, with the ASX200 finishing higher and holding close to all-time highs despite wild stock-level volatility as reporting season met the ongoing AI debate head-on. The index was again pulled in different directions under the surface, with sharp rotations between sectors and increasingly binary outcomes on earnings day. Strong results were rewarded aggressively, while any hint of disappointment was met with little mercy.

Afternoon report 20/02/2026 17:06

The Match Out: ASX holds steady near highs, QBE lifts on bumper result

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Morning report 20/02/2026 09:22

ETF Friday: Looking at Energy ETFs as Oil breaks above $US70/barrel

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Afternoon report 19/02/2026 17:28

The Match Out: ASX hits new all-time high amid a flurry of earnings reports

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