Sydney, March 6, 2026, 04:09 AEDT
- ASX 200 ended up 0.4% at 8,940, snapping a two-session slide
- Technology and healthcare led, while materials lagged
- Fresh household spending data pointed to a cautious consumer
Australian shares ended higher on Thursday, clawing back some losses after a bruising start to the week, as technology and healthcare stocks rose and energy firmed. The S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.4% at 8,940. 1
The bounce mattered because the local market had just dropped hard from record territory, with traders marking down the odds of a clean run for risk assets while oil prices swung. “The market appears content to take the de-escalation narrative at face value for now,” IG analyst Tony Sycamore wrote in an afternoon note. 2
Offshore leads helped. U.S. stocks closed up on Wednesday after a report that Iran had signaled openness to talks, with tech doing much of the lifting and investors still watching the inflation hit from higher energy costs. 3
Oil stayed at the centre of it. Brent jumped more than 3% on Thursday on supply fears tied to the widening Iran conflict, keeping pressure on inflation expectations and adding another moving part for equity investors. 4
At home, the data flow offered little comfort for bulls looking for a strong consumer. A seasonally adjusted ABS indicator (stripped of regular calendar effects) showed household spending rose 0.3% in January after a 0.5% fall in December, and ABS official Tom Lay said spending “returned to growth in January”, led by services. 5
Banks steadied after days of selling, with the financials sub-index snapping a losing streak and names such as National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and ANZ higher during the session. 6
Materials were the outlier, the only sector to finish in the red, and dividend mechanics played a role. BHP traded ex-dividend on the ASX on Thursday — meaning new buyers no longer qualify for the next payout — a common drag on index-heavy stocks around the cut-off. 7
The S&P/ASX 200 is the country’s main institutional benchmark, built from the 200 largest index-eligible stocks on the Australian Securities Exchange by float-adjusted market value. 8
But the recovery still looked fragile. Any further escalation that keeps energy prices elevated could revive fears of higher-for-longer inflation and push back expectations for interest-rate relief, a setup that tends to punish rate-sensitive sectors first. 9
