Sydney, June 8, 2026, 03:02 (AEST)
- The ASX cash market is closed Monday for the King’s Birthday holiday. Trading will pick up as usual on Tuesday.
- The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,625.10, dropping 0.70% Friday and ending the week off around 1.2%.
- Tech stocks pulled Wall Street lower, while the RBA’s rate moves and new Australian housing and jobs data are in focus this week.
ASX trading is closed Monday for the King’s Birthday holiday, so Australian shares will start the week on a delay, with attention turning to Tuesday when cash trading picks up and the market has to react to a heavy Wall Street drop. The S&P/ASX 200, the main local index, fell last week as banks and miners slipped.
The calendar sets the tone as local investors start a four-day trading week. Global rate jitters are back in play, iron ore is slipping, and the Reserve Bank of Australia keeps saying inflation hasn’t cooled enough.
S&P/ASX 200 fell 61 points on Friday to close at 8,625.10, off 0.70%. The index finished last week at 8,731.70, so it dropped roughly 1.2% across the week.
The index covers 200 big, liquid companies on the ASX and serves as the main institutional benchmark in Australia. When a handful of major banks or miners slip, the whole market can come under pressure. That happens even if smaller sectors are holding up.
Iron ore futures in Singapore dropped to $100.85 a tonne on Friday, the lowest since March 6, Market Index reported, citing soft seasonal steel demand in China and more shipments worldwide. BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue each lost ground, with Fortescue falling over 6% for the week. Resources stocks will stay in focus.
Banks dragged lower again. The S&P/ASX 200 Banks index lost 1.6% Friday and was set for a 2.9% weekly drop, according to Market Index. Investors watched weaker housing price signs and the chance that higher rates could hit credit growth.
Nasdaq sinks 4% as jobs data rattles rate hopes
The Nasdaq tumbled 4.18% Friday, with the S&P 500 losing 2.64% and the Dow off 1.35%. Stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs numbers knocked back bets on looser Fed policy. “The dam just broke,” said Carson Group chief market strategist Ryan Detrick to Reuters. Semiconductors are “way overbought,” Wells Fargo’s Ohsung Kwon said. Reuters
Australian tech and growth stocks are drawing more attention. Megaport, Pro Medicus and Life360 led gains for the week, but sentiment can shift fast for high-multiple shares if U.S. chip stocks slide again. These stocks trade on hopes for quick growth, not current earnings.
Rates remain the key local point. The RBA’s cash rate sits at 4.35%. The next move comes at 2:30 p.m. June 16. Governor Michele Bullock told a Senate committee last week, “Inflation is too high,” and said the board has hiked rates by 75 basis points this year. A basis point equals one-hundredth of a percentage point. Reserve Bank of Australia
Wage costs are in focus after Australia’s Fair Work Commission last week gave a 4.75% pay bump to 2.8 million lower-paid workers, effective July 1. The move lifts the weekly minimum wage to A$1,004.90, Reuters reported. Citi said this supports its call for the RBA to potentially hike again in August. Westpac said inflation expectations could remain higher for longer.
Local data releases are on the light side this week, with no jobs or CPI numbers, but there are still some things for markets to watch. The Australian Bureau of Statistics will post March-quarter dwelling values on Tuesday, then April building approvals come Wednesday, with Labour Account and multiple job-holder numbers out Friday. Housing numbers feed into the banks story, while labour data is another input for the RBA discussion.
The risk goes both ways. Any steadiness in U.S. futures or a rebound in iron ore might help limit the damage from Tuesday’s drop, especially since the ASX is already down. The downside looks worse if global bond yields keep rising, wage inflation stays, and commodities fall again—banks, miners, and consumer shares would all take a hit.
Price discovery starts Tuesday morning, with the market shut Monday and no ASX cash settlement. Traders lose a day and have a lot to take in.
