Daily Market Update: 17 August 2026

ASX slips as CBA and BHP sell-offs cap reporting season week

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) closed down 73.3 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 9115.2 on Friday, with six of the 11 sectors weaker, as heavyweight sell-offs in Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and BHP Group Limited (ASX: BHP) dragged the bourse to a 1.7 per cent decline for the week. BHP Group Limited (ASX: BHP) fell 3.3 per cent to $61.35 as traders pared holdings ahead of its result next week, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) slid a further 1.1 per cent to $167.17, having fallen 2.2 per cent on Thursday. The weakness came despite overnight gains on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPX) reset its record high on a benign US producer price report that eased fears the Federal Reserve would need to lift interest rates.

Insurance, retail and gaming names move on company news

QBE Insurance Group Limited (ASX: QBE) dropped 1.6 per cent to $23.09 after posting a largely flat half-year profit to June 30. Baby Bunting Group Limited (ASX: BBN) rose 5.8 per cent to $1.28, paring back an earlier 16 per cent gain, after reporting a 17.5 per cent increase in annual net profit and flagging further growth in pro forma net profit for the current financial year. Ainsworth Game Technology Limited (ASX: AGI) added 4.2 per cent to $1.12 after reaching a patent agreement with Aristocrat Leisure Limited’s (ASX: ALL) technology wing and settling historic claims related to the use of those patents. Alcoa Corporation (ASX: AAI) dropped 3.2 per cent to $49.59 after signing a 10-year, $1.5 billion gas supply deal with Equus Energy Limited (ASX: EQU), which itself fell 6.3 per cent to $1.05.

US shares slip as soft data fuels growth concerns

US equities closed lower on Friday as weak macroeconomic data weighed on sentiment, with the S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPX) easing 0.2 per cent from its record high, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DJI) shedding 108 points and the Nasdaq 100 Index (NASDAQ: NDX) down 0.1 per cent. The University of Michigan’s preliminary August sentiment index fell to 51, below forecasts of 55, while July retail sales recorded their steepest drop in over a year; combined with weak jobs figures and soft inflation, the data pointed to a cooling economy that could weigh on consumer spending, corporate profits and equities. Hyperscalers were broadly weaker, with Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) down 0.9 per cent, Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) falling 3.7 per cent and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) down 0.9 per cent, while chipmakers were mixed as Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) dropped 5.9 per cent, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) lost 2 per cent and NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) edged lower, even as Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) rose 6.5 per cent and memory producers extended recent gains, with Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) adding 2.3 per cent on bullish broker recommendations and SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) jumping 7.4 per cent following its 14 per cent surge on Thursday.