Daily Market Update: 18 August 2026

Retail rout drags ASX to fourth straight decline

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) fell 42 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 9073.20 on Monday, a fourth straight session of losses, as a wave of earnings misses and signs of a slowing economy weighed on sentiment, with eight of the 11 sectors finishing in the red. Consumer discretionary stocks led the declines, down 3 per cent, after JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) dived 12.3 per cent to $71.65 despite record sales growth and a rise in full-year profit, as shoppers pulled back spending in the final quarter. Financials were also weaker after National Australia Bank Limited (ASX: NAB) sank 4.6 per cent to $39.46 on comments that Middle East conflict, higher rates and federal budget property tax changes had created “challenges and uncertainties” for customers, with ANZ Group Holdings Limited (ASX: ANZ) down 2.6 per cent to $37.88, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) off 1.3 per cent to $165.00 and Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX: WBC) easing 0.9 per cent to $35.07, while real estate was hit after Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC) plunged 11.2 per cent to $2.87 on a dividend cut and $749 million loss, and technology names WiseTech Global Limited (ASX: WTC) and TechnologyOne Limited (ASX: TNE) fell 2.6 per cent to $42.27 and 1.2 per cent to $33.42 respectively. Materials offered support, up 1.8 per cent, as gold and copper jumped and bullion traded near US$4,400 an ounce, with BHP Group Limited (ASX: BHP) advancing 1.4 per cent to $62.20 ahead of Tuesday’s full-year results, Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) up 0.4 per cent to $168.33, Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) up 0.6 per cent to $17.75 and Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) jumping 3.8 per cent to $167.52, while energy added nearly 1 per cent as Brent crude topped US$89 a barrel on the prospect of tighter US pressure on Iran, with Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) and Santos Limited (ASX: STO) each up about 0.8 per cent.

Earnings season delivers mixed shocks across small and mid-caps

The a2 Milk Company Limited (ASX: A2M) dropped 3.3 per cent to $6.53 after chief executive David Bortolussi said the company had lost about 60 per cent of its customers buying its Chinese-label products compared with December, while Iress Limited (ASX: IRE) dived 11.6 per cent to $6.99 despite the software group lifting first-half net profit to $32 million, up from $17.3 million a year earlier. Australian Clinical Labs Limited (ASX: ACL) rocketed 14.9 per cent to $2.70 after the pathology provider posted earnings that beat consensus, while Aurizon Holdings Limited (ASX: AZJ) plummeted 10.3 per cent to $3.73 even as the company reported $1.72 billion in underlying earnings in line with expectations and renewed a key coal haulage agreement with BHP Mitsubishi Alliance in Queensland. Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) surged 11 per cent to $2.33 despite swinging to a $3.6 million underlying full-year loss before tax, down from a $700,000 profit a year earlier, and L1 Group Limited (ASX: L1G) climbed 7.2 per cent to $1.19 after full-year underlying net profit nearly doubled to $188.8 million.

Oil spike and faded peace hopes weigh on Wall Street

United States equities closed lower on Monday as fears that elevated oil prices will fuel inflation offset earlier hopes for a deal to end the Middle East conflict, with the S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPX) down 0.5 per cent, the Nasdaq-100 Index (NASDAQ: NDX) off 0.2 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DJI) shedding 273 points. Prospects for peace suffered a setback as fighting flared anew and rhetoric escalated, pushing oil prices higher and stoking concern that the Federal Reserve could be forced to raise rates before year-end, while the 30-year Treasury yield hit its highest level since 2007 on worries over surging government spending. Credit-sensitive stocks, including financials and hyperscalers, led the losses, with Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) down 0.6 per cent, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) off 3 per cent and Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META) down 3.5 per cent, while Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK.B) lost 1.1 per cent, Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) shed 1.5 per cent and American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) retreated 1.8 per cent. Chipmakers bucked the trend on strong revenue growth from Anthropic, which is meeting with banks over a potential IPO that could be the largest on record, with Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) adding 4.1 per cent, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) gaining 1 per cent and SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) soaring 9 per cent.