We felt the ASX200 delivered a solid performance on Monday given the weekend's disappointing developments out of Pakistan around the US-Iran war, and the headwind of weakening global futures throughout our session.
Global equities posted a solid rally last week, driven by hopes that the US-Iran ceasefire would fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz — removing a key inflation risk and clearing the path for global growth to regain momentum before any lasting economic damage was done.
The ASX 200 recovered from early losses to close up +0.2% on Thursday taking the market to its highest close since March 3rd, just as the Iran war broke out. Over 55% of the main board closed lower on the day but a strong session by the banks was enough to push the index higher, shrugging off steep losses across the software stocks after Anthropic launched Claude Managed Agents and Meta unveiled a new AI model - the “AI Disruption Trade” reared its head again causing indiscriminate selling in the local Tech stocks, sending the sector down another -6.5%.
The ASX200 surged out of the gates on Wednesday and held its gains throughout the session, closing up +2.6%, its strongest performance in a year, after news of a two-week US–Iran ceasefire sparked a global relief rally. Wednesdays rally was broad-based, with 88% of the main board closing higher and an impressive 19 names jumping by +10%, or more. From a points perspective the miners and banks again led the way with BHP and CBA contributing ~20% towards the days advance which took the ASX200 back within 3% of its all-time high.
The ASX200 closed up an impressive +1.7% on Tuesday although it was well off its mid-morning high where at its best it was up 225-points, or 2.6%. All 11 sectors ended higher, lifting the market to its highest close since mid-March, with the influential banks and miners leading the charge, BHP and CBA alone accounted for ~35% of the day’s gains.
The ASX200 fell 1.1% on Thursday heading into the Easter break, extending the recent trend of late-week weakness as investors de-risk amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.
The ASX200 rallied strongly on Wednesday, surging more than 2% in a broad-based advance that saw ~14% of the index rise by 6%, or more. The move followed comments from President Trump suggesting the US military conflict could end within two to three weeks, boosting confidence around the global economic growth outlook.
The ASX200 endured another volatile session on Tuesday, ultimately finishing up 20 points after trading in a wide ~140-point range—swinging from a 50-point loss to a near 70-point gain at its peak. It’s the kind of price action that unsettles headline-driven investors, but the question remains: should it? We all know the reasons why financial markets are volatile, so let's focus on the numbers for March, as opposed to trying to second-guess President Trump's next move:
The ASX200 recovered almost two-thirds of Monday’s early losses to close down 0.65%, with underlying buying evident across much of the market, even as rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices to near four-year highs. However, this strength was offset by pronounced weakness in the influential banking sector, with the “Big Four” subtracting more than 55 points from the index and driving the majority of the day’s decline.
Markets remain fascinating at present, though an undercurrent of nervousness and confusion is clearly building. President Trump had previously “jawboned” both oil and bond markets into holding relatively firm in anticipation of a resolution, but that influence now appears to be fading. Headlines that would have supported risk assets only weeks ago are increasingly being largely ignored.
Global equities posted a solid rally last week, driven by hopes that the US-Iran ceasefire would fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz — removing a key inflation risk and clearing the path for global growth to regain momentum before any lasting economic damage was done.
The ASX 200 recovered from early losses to close up +0.2% on Thursday taking the market to its highest close since March 3rd, just as the Iran war broke out. Over 55% of the main board closed lower on the day but a strong session by the banks was enough to push the index higher, shrugging off steep losses across the software stocks after Anthropic launched Claude Managed Agents and Meta unveiled a new AI model - the “AI Disruption Trade” reared its head again causing indiscriminate selling in the local Tech stocks, sending the sector down another -6.5%.
The ASX200 surged out of the gates on Wednesday and held its gains throughout the session, closing up +2.6%, its strongest performance in a year, after news of a two-week US–Iran ceasefire sparked a global relief rally. Wednesdays rally was broad-based, with 88% of the main board closing higher and an impressive 19 names jumping by +10%, or more. From a points perspective the miners and banks again led the way with BHP and CBA contributing ~20% towards the days advance which took the ASX200 back within 3% of its all-time high.
The ASX200 closed up an impressive +1.7% on Tuesday although it was well off its mid-morning high where at its best it was up 225-points, or 2.6%. All 11 sectors ended higher, lifting the market to its highest close since mid-March, with the influential banks and miners leading the charge, BHP and CBA alone accounted for ~35% of the day’s gains.
The ASX200 fell 1.1% on Thursday heading into the Easter break, extending the recent trend of late-week weakness as investors de-risk amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.
The ASX200 rallied strongly on Wednesday, surging more than 2% in a broad-based advance that saw ~14% of the index rise by 6%, or more. The move followed comments from President Trump suggesting the US military conflict could end within two to three weeks, boosting confidence around the global economic growth outlook.
The ASX200 endured another volatile session on Tuesday, ultimately finishing up 20 points after trading in a wide ~140-point range—swinging from a 50-point loss to a near 70-point gain at its peak. It’s the kind of price action that unsettles headline-driven investors, but the question remains: should it? We all know the reasons why financial markets are volatile, so let's focus on the numbers for March, as opposed to trying to second-guess President Trump's next move:
The ASX200 recovered almost two-thirds of Monday’s early losses to close down 0.65%, with underlying buying evident across much of the market, even as rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices to near four-year highs. However, this strength was offset by pronounced weakness in the influential banking sector, with the “Big Four” subtracting more than 55 points from the index and driving the majority of the day’s decline.
Markets remain fascinating at present, though an undercurrent of nervousness and confusion is clearly building. President Trump had previously “jawboned” both oil and bond markets into holding relatively firm in anticipation of a resolution, but that influence now appears to be fading. Headlines that would have supported risk assets only weeks ago are increasingly being largely ignored.
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