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%.