Thursday 28th May 2026
Daily Market Update: 28 May 2026
Inflation relief lifts local market
The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose 59.90 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 8717.70 on Wednesday, reversing earlier losses after April headline inflation slowed more than expected to 4.2 per cent, below the 4.4 per cent consensus. The data reduced market expectations for a Reserve Bank of Australia rate increase in June, while the trimmed mean inflation measure rose to 3.4 per cent.
Technology and miners drive gains
Interest-rate sensitive technology stocks led gains, with NEXTDC Limited (ASX: NXT) rising 3.8 per cent to $15.20 and Megaport Limited (ASX: MP1) climbing 8.6 per cent to $14.98. Miners also advanced as aluminium reached a four-year high and copper prices stayed elevated, lifting BHP Group Limited (ASX: BHP) 1.5 per cent to $61.28 and South32 Limited (ASX: S32) 3.5 per cent to $4.79. Banks were mixed, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) up 0.3 per cent, while Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ASX: ANZ), National Australia Bank Limited (ASX: NAB) and Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX: WBC) declined; ASX Limited (ASX: ASX) fell 9.7 per cent after analyst downgrades, while Endeavour Group Limited (ASX: EDV), Web Travel Group Limited (ASX: WEB), Southern Cross Media Group Limited (ASX: SXL) and Nufarm Limited (ASX: NUF) also moved on company-specific updates.
Wall street mixed as chipmakers ease
United States equities closed mixed on Wednesday as defensive and traditional economic sectors offset weakness in chipmakers and artificial intelligence-related names. The S&P 500 Index (CBOE: SPX) gained 0.2 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI: DJI) rose 220 points to record highs, while the NASDAQ 100 Index (NASDAQ: NDX) slipped 0.2 per cent. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) rebounded from early losses, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) rose 2 per cent and The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) gained nearly 4 per cent, while NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) fell 1 per cent, Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) dropped 6 per cent, Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) climbed 3.5 per cent after an upgrade from UBS Group AG (SIX: UBSG), and Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE: CRM) fell 2 per cent after hours following earnings.
| Australian Indices | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| ASX 200 | 0.6 | 2.6 | -0.2 | -4.2 | 7.2 |
| Financials | -0.5 | 0.9 | -2.2 | -6.3 | 5.5 |
| Resources | 0.4 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 56.2 |
| Information Technology | 1.8 | 1.5 | -0.7 | -2.0 | -29.4 |
| Global Indices | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| US 500 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 5.3 | 9.0 | 15.6 |
| Europe | -0.3 | 1.2 | 3.2 | -1.7 | 7.0 |
| Japan | -0.4 | 3.7 | 5.5 | -1.0 | 17.9 |
| China top 50 | -0.9 | -1.3 | -1.8 | -4.8 | -7.4 |
| India top 50 | -0.6 | 1.8 | -2.0 | -9.2 | -21.8 |
| Fixed Interest | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| Australian Treasury Bond | 0.2 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Australian Corporate Bond | 0.4 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 1.4 |
| US Treasury | 0.2 | 1.1 | -0.4 | -1.8 | 3.3 |
| Cash | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 3.9 |
| Commodities & Crypto | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| Gold | -0.7 | 0.5 | -3.5 | -14.1 | 22.1 |
| Silver | -1.0 | 0.6 | 0.7 | -15.8 | 104.3 |
| Crude Oil | -0.2 | -4.4 | 1.8 | 62.3 | 92.6 |
| Bitcoin | -1.7 | -2.7 | -3.1 | 13.2 | -37.5 |
