The ASX 200 finally broke a six-session losing streak on Thursday, although the headline gain overstated the strength of the broader market. Seven of the 11 sectors finished lower, with Materials, Healthcare and Technology doing the heavy lifting.
The US yield curve has been steepening sharply, with the gap between 2 and 30-year yields widening to ~111bp from ~69bp in late June. Importantly, this is a bear steepener: long-term yields have been rising much faster than short-term yields, reflecting growing investor concern around US deficits, sticky inflation, elevated oil prices and the enormous supply of government and corporate debt. At the same time, softer economic data and a Fed appearing to be on hold for now are keeping the 2-year yield relatively anchored.
The ASX 200 extended its recent pullback for a sixth consecutive decline. The market spent the session firmly in negative territory but recovered from its lows into the afternoon, with seven of the 11 sectors finishing lower as weakness across Technology, Real Estate and Financials outweighed another strong session for Healthcare and Energy and strong results in select Property stocks providing some support.
The ASX 200 closed flat on Wednesday, experiencing a quiet day on the index level but anything but on the stock front following a bumper session for FY26 earnings. Only ~30% of the main board closed higher, but when CSL (+17%), BHP (+3%), and Goodman Group (+3%) dance to the same beat, adding 70 points to the ASX 200, it was always going to be a tough day for the bears, even if the crowd was in their camp.
The ASX 200 finished around flat on Tuesday after trading between -0.2% and +0.4% in a blockbuster day for reporting with several index heavyweights out with numbers. CSL and BHP provided significant support adding ~56pts to the index between the two giants; without the pair, the underlying session was considerably softer, with the major banks, Staples, telcos and retailers mostly lower.
The ASX 200 tried to reverse higher into lunchtime on Monday, only for steady, targeted selling throughout the afternoon to drag the index down by ~0.5%. On the stock & sector level, it was almost a carbon copy of August so far, with the miners again attempting to prop up an index weighed down by the flow-on effects of a softening housing market, where activity has ground to a near standstill since the May Budget. Consumer Discretionary, which we’ll revisit later, led the sell-off, falling 3%, while Financials and Real Estate also came under pressure, both declining more than 1%.
The ASX started the week on the back foot, with eight of 11 sectors lower as reporting season drove a sixth decline in seven sessions. Consumer Discretionary was the clear laggard, with a notable result from JB Hi-Fi sending waves through the broader retail complex after weakening sales momentum, while financials also weighed as NAB disappointed with its quarterly amid lower home loan application volumes. Materials provided the major offset, rebounding after three sessions of weakness as gold, copper and lithium rallied.
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