SYDNEY, April 26, 2026, 03:10 AEST
- The S&P/ASX 200 ended Friday at 8,786.50, losing 1.8% over the week—marking its sharpest weekly decline since mid-March.
- Energy stocks caught a boost from oil and Strait of Hormuz tensions, though the lift weighed on wider market sentiment.
- Healthcare names and miners weighed heavily—Cochlear, CSL, and Fortescue stood out as some of the week’s main draggers.
The S&P/ASX 200 ended Friday at 8,786.50, capping a 1.8% drop for the week—its steepest decline since mid-March—as the market struggled with Middle East jitters, a selloff in healthcare, and sliding miners. On the day, the benchmark edged down 6.9 points, or 0.08%. Miners shed 1.1%. Banks, though, eked out a late 0.3% gain.
Timing is key here: the selloff landed just as investors juggled two themes—potential diplomacy efforts in the Middle East and the threat that stubbornly high oil prices could keep inflation burning. Higher crude bumps up fuel costs, can bite into company margins, and tends to firm up expectations for where interest rates might head next. The ASX’s RBA Rate Indicator shows how the market prices potential moves in the official cash rate using cash-rate futures—contracts traders use to bet on short-term rates.
Australia’s equities struggled to find direction. Utilities and energy names drew some bids—Woodside, Ampol, Santos managed to move higher. Still, that couldn’t offset losses piling up in materials, tech, and smaller caps. By Friday’s close, the All Ordinaries slipped 0.2%, while the All Tech index lost 0.86%.
Midweek saw most of the selling pressure hit. The ASX 200 managed a slim 0.07% gain to kick off Monday, slipped 0.04% Tuesday, then tumbled 1.18% by Wednesday. Losses continued—down 0.57% Thursday, another 0.08% Friday—index data show. That put the benchmark hovering just above its lowest point for the week. Not a rout, but a marked shift from the steadier trading seen earlier in April.
“Markets remain on edge,” Craig Sidney, senior investment adviser at Shaw and Partners, told Reuters, highlighting the murky outlook for a U.S.-Iran resolution. The same piece carried comments from Cliff Man, CEO at ETF Shares, who flagged tough conditions for banks, with geopolitical jitters and weaker property sentiment expected to keep investors wary. Indo Premier
Healthcare took the hardest hit locally. Cochlear tumbled 40.7% to A$99.58 on Wednesday—marking its lowest finish since March 2016—after slashing its fiscal 2026 underlying net profit forecast to A$290 million-A$330 million, down from A$435 million-A$460 million. Jefferies analysts raised flags over possible “structural” issues, as the hearing-implant maker blamed sluggish developed-market demand and delivery risks tied to the Middle East. Reuters
CSL slid further, hitting lows not seen since August 2017. The biotech name took a hit after the U.S. military dropped its flu vaccine requirement, stirring new worries over CSL Seqirus vaccine demand. Marc Jocum at Global X ETFs flagged the Pentagon’s decision as a “meaningful catalyst.” But for Vantage Markets’ Hebe Chen, there’s a deeper concern: CSL’s earnings momentum and strategy. Reuters
Materials dragged on the index. Fortescue dropped 5.7% Friday after posting quarterly iron ore shipments just shy of expectations and lowering its guidance for Iron Bridge shipments, though the miner left its full-year shipment target intact. Fortescue also committed $680 million toward green energy projects in the Pilbara. “We’re reducing our fossil fuel reliance as energy supply grows less predictable,” said CEO Dino Otranto of Fortescue Metals and Operations. Reuters
Strength showed up in a few names, not across the board. Treasury Wine Estates popped nearly 17% earlier this week, fueled by robust China demand and the rollout of a new regional setup. CEO Sam Fischer called the overhaul an effort to bring “clearer accountability for performance.” Citi analysts said the move might give non-Penfolds lines a better shot in China. Reuters
Global leads wrapped the Australian week in mixed territory. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended Friday trading at fresh records, lifted by renewed strength in chip stocks and a hint of optimism around U.S.-Iran dialogue. The Dow, however, edged lower, with Wall Street’s gains following a run of volatile sessions. “Some rays of sunlight,” is how Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management, put it, but he called the Iran headlines “tenuous.” Reuters
There’s a risk the market isn’t done digesting shifts in oil prices, interest rates, or earnings. Roughly 20% of the world’s oil and gas moves through the Strait of Hormuz. If that corridor faces a sustained shutdown—a scenario TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne flagged as a real threat—energy shortages could bite, with Asian economies particularly exposed. For the ASX, that’s a tough setup: importers and households get hit with higher costs, rate-sensitive banks and property stocks feel more strain, and the benefits for local energy producers are likely modest.
