SYDNEY, June 9, 2026, 03:24 AEST
- The S&P/ASX 200 ended down 0.7% at 8,625.10 ahead of Monday’s King’s Birthday cash-market holiday.
- Wall Street’s bounce in tech could help steady nerves, but oil, rates, and demand for China-linked commodities are still the main swing factors.
- BHP, Rio Tinto, Fortescue and big banks are on the back foot Tuesday, still feeling the weight of Friday’s selloff.
ASX eyes muted open as miners, banks slip before long weekend
Australian stocks are expected to open cautiously Tuesday, with S&P/ASX 200 futures held down by Friday’s 0.7% drop to 8,625.10 and weak trading in banks and miners. The ASX cash market didn’t trade on Monday because of the King’s Birthday holiday. Regular trading is set to start around 10 a.m. Sydney time.
ASX traders come back after missing Monday’s overseas action. U.S. stocks climbed Monday, led by a rebound in chip stocks after last week’s drop. Some signs that Middle East tensions eased also helped, leaving Australians returning to a stronger offshore lead than they had before the market closed on Friday.
S&P/ASX 200 is stuck in a tricky spot as global tech takes a breath, oil prices stay high, and rate worries hang over the local market. S&P Dow Jones Indices calls the index Australia’s top liquid benchmark.
Aussie miners and big banks sent the market lower Friday. BHP dropped 2.48% to A$61.24, Rio Tinto slipped 1.86% to A$184.58, Fortescue sank 2.33% to A$20.53. Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and ANZ closed in the red too. Iron ore futures fell for the fourth week, landing at $101.96 a tonne and weighing on mining stocks.
Healthcare stocks offered some support. CSL climbed 5.75%, Pro Medicus was up 4.03%, and Sigma Healthcare inched higher. The moves pointed to pockets of strength as the headline index dropped.
Oil held higher overseas, with Brent crude up 1.8% at $94.85 a barrel Monday after earlier jumping more than 5%. Traders kept an eye on possible limits through the Strait of Hormuz, a major supply route. Reuters said about 20% of the world’s daily oil and LNG moved through the strait before the latest escalation.
Energy stocks stay in focus, but there’s pressure on household spending and inflation too. Stephen Smith, a partner at Deloitte Access Economics, told The Australian that the Middle East crisis could make both Australia’s “inflation problem” and “growth problem” worse, warning higher oil prices feeding through the economy were “the last thing that Australian households need.” The Australian
RBA’s cash rate sits at 4.35% ahead of the coming rate call on June 16. Higher rates tend to pressure stocks, as they push up company borrowing and make safer income options look more attractive than equities.
Local markets aren’t giving investors much room. Gross domestic product was up 0.3% in the March quarter and gained 2.5% on the year. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said growth was held down by soft household and government spending and mining exports that got hit by weather.
Wall Street’s bounce could boost tech-exposed stocks like Xero and WiseTech Global, after U.S. chip names rallied. “AI and technology remain the strongest and fastest-growing segments of the economy,” Adam Sarhan, chief executive at 50 Park Investments, told Reuters. Sarhan said a sharper drop would signal “a more meaningful shift in market sentiment.” Reuters
Risks remain clear. Another jump in oil, hotter U.S. inflation numbers this week, or more weakness in iron ore could drag the ASX back near Friday’s lows. That’s the case if investors see banks as vulnerable to slower growth and miners tied to China-demand worries.
Banks and miners are in focus Tuesday as the market reopens after the holiday. The ASX 200 may not get much of a lift from Wall Street if buyers don’t step back in.
