Wednesday 26th August 2026
Daily Market Update: 26 August 2026
Healthcare and tech power second straight ASX gain
The Australian sharemarket rose for a second consecutive session on Tuesday, as a surging healthcare sector and a fresh batch of corporate earnings buoyed sentiment. The S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.7%, or 61.50 points, higher at 9164.60, with nine of the 11 sectors advancing. Healthcare extended its run this month to a 28% gain: Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN) climbed another 8% to $41.36, following Monday’s 20% earnings-driven jump, while plasma group CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) added 2.7% to $173.64, stretching its monthly rally to almost 50%. Technology was the strongest sector as investors looked past overnight weakness in US tech ahead of results from NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), with WiseTech Global Limited (ASX: WTC) up 4.6% to $45.47 before its Wednesday report and Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) rising 2.6% to $88.95.
Miners set records as earnings drive sharp swings
Miners and financials underpinned the broader advance. BHP Group Limited (ASX: BHP) gained 0.8% to a record close of $67.67 amid continued copper strength, while Suncorp Group Limited (ASX: SUN) soared 8% to $19.37 and Insurance Australia Group Limited (ASX: IAG) rose 3.8% to $7.86. Among blue-chip results, Coles Group Limited (ASX: COL) added 4.9% to $23.75 after reporting 2025-26 net profit up 1% to $1.09 billion, while Woodside Energy Group Limited (ASX: WDS) slipped 1.4% to $33 as first-half sales rose 13% to $US7.45 billion. The session’s biggest swings came from ARB Corporation Limited (ASX: ARB), up 13.9% to $21.51 after underlying profit of $118.8 million beat expectations, and Electro Optic Systems Holdings Limited (ASX: EOS), up 23% to $10.58 after half-year revenue more than tripled. On the downside, SiteMinder Limited (ASX: SDR) dropped 11% to $3.40 on softer-than-expected underlying earnings, and Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX: MND) fell 12% to $28.50 after flagging a softer year ahead.
Wall Street rebounds on tech and easing yields
US indices closed higher, led by a technology rebound as lower oil prices dragged bond yields down. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 160 points. AI-infrastructure names recovered from the prior session’s losses: Nvidia advanced 2.2% ahead of Wednesday’s earnings, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) rose 0.9%, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) gained 2%, Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) added 2.5% and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) jumped 4.9%. Financials also firmed as long-term Treasury yields eased, with Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) up 1.3% and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) gaining 2.2%.
| Australian Indices | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| ASX 200 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 4.8 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| Financials | 0.8 | -2.4 | -5.5 | -0.9 | -1.4 |
| Resources | 0.7 | 5.7 | 15.7 | 7.0 | 49.3 |
| Information Technology | 1.6 | 0.1 | 15.6 | 15.3 | -26.3 |
| Global Indices | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| US 500 | 0.3 | -1.3 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 8.5 |
| Europe | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 4.8 | 9.5 |
| Japan | 0.1 | -2.6 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 13.8 |
| China top 50 | 0.3 | -0.4 | -0.2 | -0.3 | -16.3 |
| India top 50 | 0.3 | -0.6 | 0.3 | 0.7 | -17.5 |
| Fixed Interest | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| Australian Treasury Bond | -0.1 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.3 |
| Australian Corporate Bond | 0.0 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.0 |
| US Treasury | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.5 | -0.1 | 1.8 |
| Cash | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 4.1 |
| Commodities & Crypto | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| Gold | 0.3 | 5.4 | 12.2 | 3.8 | 25.3 |
| Silver | -1.1 | 4.9 | 15.1 | -9.0 | 61.9 |
| Crude Oil | -1.5 | 3.6 | -1.0 | -5.6 | 72.5 |
| Bitcoin | 4.8 | 21.5 | 20.9 | 2.2 | -35.3 |
