The ASX 200 finished a soft week on a positive note as miners rebounded strongly on Friday, although the Materials sector still ended the week as the worst performer, down -4.4%. Fresh fighting between the US and Iran combined with a sharp unwind of the AI Trade to weigh on the miners and risk sentiment in general. Encouragingly, improving market breadth helped cushion the downside, with each of the past three sessions following a similar pattern: early weakness attracted bargain hunters, allowing the market to recover and close near its highs.
The ASX 200 closed higher today as a rebound in miners and a firmer bank sector offset broad losses elsewhere. Materials was the standout on the day (+2.32%) despite being the week's weakest sector over five days (-4.41%) — a sharp reversal as gold pushed toward US$4,115/oz and iron ore cleared US$99/tonne. Healthcare was the biggest drag, led lower by Pro Medicus. The index still finished the week down 0.43%, its fourth straight weekly decline.
US-listed ETFs attracted more than US$1 trillion in inflows during 1H26, the quickest time the industry has ever reached the impressive milestone. However, the rally was highly concentrated, with around 800 ETFs attracting little or no investor flows. To put these numbers into perspective, the US ETF industry has grown to ~US$19 trillion in AUM as of early 2026, with over 3,000 listed ETFs in the US market.
The ASX closed lower on Thursday as a fresh surge in oil prices reignited inflation fears, after Donald Trump said the Iran ceasefire was effectively "over" and the US struck Iran for a second consecutive day. The ASX 200 fell as much as ~50pts intraday before rallying through the afternoon to finish down just 22pts – another solid fight back.
The ASX 200 continues to ride the volatile rollercoaster it's been aboard for well over 400-days. Last week the local market looked destined for new all-time highs following triple-digit gains on Friday, close on the heels of a strong performance on the Thursday. This morning we're sitting at our desks contemplating what's next after President Trump declared the ceasefire with “scum” Iran is over; we knew he wasn’t happy following the USA’s debacle of an exit from the World Cup, but we didn’t think global tensions would escalate in just a matter of hours. The news is already sounding so familiar to much of the last quarter:
The ASX 200 finished modestly lower after recovering from an early 1.4% decline, with strength across Energy and Financials helping the market claw back losses following renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
The ASX200 fell away on Tuesday, finishing the soft session down 0.3% as further weakness in the miners offset a resurgence by the influential banks. While the gold and lithium names dominated the losers' enclosure from a performance perspective, it was the heavyweights in the materials sector that weighed on the index, with BHP Group (ASX: BHP), Northern Star (ASX: NST) and Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN) hitting the index by more than 0.3% on their own.
The ASX 200 whipsawed through the morning session, initially lower but then charging back to positive territory before ultimately falling away for the day. Samsung's quarterly result sparked a broad "sell-the-news" reaction across Asian semiconductor stocks which triggered Nasdaq futures selling, weighing on sentiment locally.
The ASX 200 slipped 0.2% on Monday, in a lacklustre session that only saw 40% of the main board close higher despite encouraging moves by US futures during local market trade. Ongoing stock and sector reversion was evident, in particular with some major underperformers of the last 12 months enjoying a return to the winners' enclosure.
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