SYDNEY, June 28, 2026, 03:02 (AEST)
- S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) ended Friday 0.18% higher at 8,764.2. For the week, the index dropped 64.5 points, down 0.73%.
- Materials jumped Friday after dropping 9.8% in the last six sessions. Energy was up too, snapping a 12% slide in 10 sessions.
- Judo Capital Holdings ASX:JDO slashed its profit outlook this week and pointed to higher bad-debt charges, delivering the week’s sharpest credit warning.
- Traders will watch June 30 RBA minutes after May trimmed-mean inflation came in at 3.6% and the cash rate was kept at 4.35%.
S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) closed 15.5 points higher at 8,764.2 on Friday, up 0.18%. But the index still fell 64.5 points, or 0.73%, for the week. Friday’s lift made back less than a quarter of the week’s decline.
Materials is coming off six straight down days, dropping 9.8% before a rebound on Friday, Market Index said. Energy slid 12% in the 10 sessions since June 11. All the leading early risers on the ASX 200 Friday were gold miners. Tech, defence and lithium names traded lower.
Gold led safe haven trades this week. Kingsgate Consolidated ASX:KCN, Ramelius Resources ASX:RMS and Perseus Mining ASX:PRU were top gainers on the ASX 200 Friday. Mesoblast ASX:MSB, 4DMedical ASX:4DX and Elevra Lithium ASX:ELV lagged.
Lithium dropped again, adding pressure on miners who already had iron ore trouble. Chinese lithium carbonate futures slipped 6.3% in early Friday trading, taking a near 10% hit for the week, according to Market Index. PLS Group ASX:PLS was off 14.6% for the week by midday Friday. Liontown Resources ASX:LTR fell 16.2%. Mineral Resources ASX:MIN lost 7.0%.
Iron ore kept weighing on big diversified miners, with Singapore futures dropping to $96.95 a tonne on Friday. That’s the lowest level since February and futures are heading for a seventh weekly drop, according to Market Index. BHP Group ASX:BHP, Rio Tinto ASX:RIO and Fortescue ASX:FMG stayed under pressure.
ASX tech shares fell in line with global tech moves. The ASX tech index dropped 2.0% intraday Friday, with WiseTech Global ASX:WTC, Life360 (ASX:360) and Xero ASX:XRO among the worst hit. WiseTech was down 56.0% so far this year and Xero was off 41.3%.
Chip stocks slid 5.3% Friday and are headed for a 7.7% drop on the week, the biggest weekly loss since March 2025, Reuters said. The global lead into Monday is weak. “Healthy period of consolidation” is how Mark Hackett, Nationwide’s chief market strategist, put it after the rally. Reuters
Judo Capital shares dropped as much as 50% in early trade Thursday. The SME lender cut its 2026 profit-before-tax target to A$163 million-A$169 million, down from the old A$180 million-A$190 million range, and now sees annual cost of risk at A$116 million-A$122 million. CEO Chris Bayliss blamed the worse credit results on a “small number of customers”. NST Online
Judo’s warning rippled out this week, not just for its own shares. It came as Westpac’s economics team assigned a 27% chance that the economy shrinks in the June quarter. Westpac still said its base case was for 0.2% growth, but flagged a “one-in-four chance” for a negative quarter. ABC News
Rates drove trade again. ABS data showed annual CPI slowed to 4.0% in May from 4.2% in April. Still, trimmed-mean inflation moved up to 3.6% after 3.4%. The RBA cash rate target is at 4.35%. The bank gives its next policy update on Aug. 11.
Jobs figures left rate worries in place. Unemployment dropped to 4.4% in May, ABS said, with employment up 40,300. Hours worked slid 1.1%. “The backlog of people waiting to start a job has eased,” said Sean Crick, who leads labour stats at the ABS. Australian Bureau of Statistics
BetaShares chief economist David Bassanese told ABC the deceleration was “gradual and orderly”. APAC economist Callam Pickering called inflation “too high and too broad-based to be ignored”. Shane Oliver, AMP’s head of investment strategy and chief economist, said global shares fell after tech got hit on concern over an “AI bubble and valuations”. He said Australia also saw declines from falling commodities and bank profit-taking. ABC News
Reserve Bank is on watch this week. Governor Michele Bullock joins a Basel panel late Sunday Sydney time. Assistant Governor Christopher Kent is set to speak in Sydney Monday. Minutes from the June policy meeting land Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. AEST.
