Sydney, June 26, 2026, 03:07 (AEST)
- S&P/ASX 200 closed Thursday lower, losing 0.68% to finish at 8,748.70.
- VanEck’s equal-weight ETF added 0.78%, outpacing the benchmark by 1.46 points, according to .
- Materials traded lower for a sixth straight day, with MarketIndex reporting a 9.8% drop across that stretch just before the close.
ASX 200 drops almost 60 points as sector gains mask wider split
The ASX 200 closed down 59.7 points and the All Ordinaries ended 61 points lower at 8,951.60. Still, most sectors finished higher, with seven out of 11 in positive territory. The VanEck Australian Equal Weight ETF (ASX:MVW) was up A$0.30 at A$38.70.
The S&P/ASX 200 uses float-adjusted market value to weight stocks. MVW spreads its weighting evenly across big, liquid Australian names and holds a different list. The difference hit benchmark funds, as losses among the top stocks wiped out gains elsewhere in the market.
Breadth finished flat, with 99 stocks up, 99 down and two unchanged. Judo Capital Holdings (ASX:JDO) plunged 40.3%, cutting around A$660 million from its value. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) slid 1.3%. National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) dropped 3.4%. BHP Group (ASX:BHP) ended down 1.7%, while Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) lost 2.3%. CSL Limited (ASX:CSL) rose 2.3%. Lendlease Group (ASX:LLC) finished 8.9% higher.
Gold dropped under $4,000 an ounce on Wednesday, keeping pressure on the sector. Spot gold clawed back 0.2% to $4,007.65 after Sydney closed, as US inflation numbers calmed some worries over an early Fed rate hike. “PCE data looks like it came in line mostly with expectations,” said David Meger, metals director at High Ridge Futures. Reuters
Judo flagged three borrower exposures that will lift its fiscal 2026 cost of risk to A$116 million to A$122 million. The bank said loans overdue at least 90 days or classified as impaired will likely make up around 3% of gross loans. Judo now expects fiscal 2026 profit before tax of A$163 million to A$169 million, and for fiscal 2027, profit is seen at A$210 million to A$220 million. “While today’s update is partly a result of the macro environment, it is nevertheless disappointing,” CEO Chris Bayliss said.
Jobs in Australia climbed 40,300 in May, with the unemployment rate slipping to 4.4%. Most of those gains were in part-time roles, up 35,200, while full-time jobs added 5,200. Hours worked dropped 1.1%.
RBA can keep rates on hold for longer, Krishna Bhimavarapu at State Street Investment Management said. Diana Mousina at AMP commented that “conditions in the economy are still inflationary.” Traders saw about a 20% chance for an August hike and 12 basis points priced by November. The Australian dollar slipped 0.2% to US$0.6891, while the three-year bond yield hit its lowest level since March. Reuters
Household spending was up 1.3% in May compared with April, and 5.5% higher than a year ago. The next inflation numbers are expected July 29 at 11:30 a.m. AEST. The Reserve Bank’s policy meeting is set for August 10-11.
