ASX 200 ends the week 2.33% higher as an Iran strike pause sinks oil and soft CPI lifts tech
ASX 200 week close: 8,976.8 (+2.33%) S&P 500 Friday close: 7,489.72 (+0.70%) Sentiment: bullish
The week on the ASX
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,976.8 on 31 July 2026, up 204.5 points or 2.33% for the week, after a pause in US and Iranian strikes around the Strait of Hormuz dropped Brent crude 8.70% in Monday's session alone. WEB.AU topped the exchange with a 33.07% weekly gain on a first-half guidance lift and a $90 million buyback. Wednesday's June-quarter CPI print of 3.8% annual headline, down from 4.0%, removed August rate-hike pricing from the curve.
The index rose in four of five sessions: 8,894.0 on Monday (+1.39%), 8,947.8 on Tuesday (+0.60%), then 9,038.6 on Wednesday (+1.01%), the highest close since 2 March 2026. Thursday gave back 0.79% to 8,967.7 on a weak Wall Street lead, and Friday added 0.10%. The week ended three consecutive weekly declines of 0.43%, 0.11% and 0.28% across 10, 17 and 24 July, and delivered a 2.26% July gain, the third straight monthly rise.
XRO.AU +13.67%, TNE.AU +13.46% and SEK.AU +13.96% each cleared 13% for the week, against a 0.74% median gain across the 41 financials in the ASX top 200 and 1.43% across 39 basic-materials names. Coal, lithium and iron ore supplied most of the downside: SMR.AU -18.95%, LTR.AU -18.57%, CIA.AU -12.56% and WHC.AU -9.94%.
Sector scorecard (5-day)
Consumer cyclicals led every ASX sector in the week to 31 July 2026 with a 6.63% median five-day gain, while energy was the only sector whose median name fell more than 1%. Medians are calculated across the 200 largest ASX names by market capitalisation.
- Consumer cyclicals +6.63% median across 14 names, helped by travel and discretionary retail
- Communication services +5.84% across 9 names and technology +5.58% across 10 names
- Basic materials +1.43% across 39 names, with gold and copper offsetting coal and lithium
- Financials +0.74% across 41 names, the largest sector weight in the index
- Energy -1.15% across 10 names as Brent fell 6.88% to US$90.12
- Dispersion between best and worst sector: 7.78 points
Top movers, week ending 31 July 2026
WEB.AU was the strongest ASX top-200 performer in the week to 31 July 2026 with a 33.07% gain to $3.42, while AYA.AU fell 28.55% to $4.03.
| Ticker | Week | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| WEB.AU | +33.07% | $80 million to $86 million EBITDA guidance plus a $90 million buyback (28 July) |
| WTC.AU | +20.92% | FRDM.ai acquisition, US$10 million upfront plus US$14.31 million earn-out, completing 3 August |
| 4DX.AU | +16.72% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. Friday supplied 13.08% of the move |
| VEA.AU | +14.00% | 1H26 EBITDA guidance lifted to $770 million to $780 million from $305 million (28 July) |
| SEK.AU | +13.96% | Rate-sensitive growth rerating after Wednesday's CPI print, no company announcement |
| AYA.AU | -28.55% | June-quarter cashflow report (29 July) sold into, 16.1% of the fall came Thursday |
| SMR.AU | -18.95% | Metallurgical coal weakness, 11.8% of the drop landed on 28 July |
| LTR.AU | -18.57% | June-quarter costs and realised pricing, closed $0.965 for a first sub-$1 finish since October |
| WBT.AU | -17.75% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. Tuesday and Wednesday together took 19.1% off |
| DRO.AU | -16.91% | Fell 13.2% on 28 July despite a $23.2 million reseller contract package |
Friday US session
The S&P 500 closed at 7,489.72 on Friday 31 July 2026, up 0.70%, after Amazon reported a second-quarter revenue beat driven by its cloud division.
- S&P 500: 7,489.72 (+0.70%)
- Nasdaq: 25,373.85 (+1.00%)
- Dow: 52,485.03 (+0.53%)
- VIX: 15.99 (-6.44%)
The VIX closed at 20.66 on Wednesday 29 July after the Nasdaq fell 1.75% that session, then unwound to 17.09 and 15.99 across Thursday and Friday as Amazon and Microsoft results landed. SK Hynix gained more than 25% in Seoul on Friday, Samsung Electronics more than 20%, and Advantest close to 18% in Tokyo. The ASX 200 added 0.10% in the same session.
AUD/USD finished the week at 0.7025, up 0.84%, after a 0.95% jump on Thursday 30 July. Gold settled at US$4,049.10 an ounce, down 1.24% on Friday and 0.45% across the week, holding its range while crude fell 6.88%.
Macro themes that played out
Brent crude fell 6.88% over the week to US$90.12 after the United States and Iran paused strikes around the Strait of Hormuz on the weekend of 25 July 2026. Brent had printed 100.69 on 23 July, and Monday took it to 88.36, with Tuesday's 84.09 the low of the week. WTI followed, down 5.20% to US$84.67. Lower crude widened refining margins: VEA.AU guided first-half EBITDA to between $770 million and $780 million against $305 million a year earlier, on a Geelong refining margin of US$21.1 a barrel versus US$8.2.
The June-quarter CPI release on Wednesday 29 July put annual headline inflation at 3.8%, down from 4.0%, with the trimmed mean unchanged at 3.6% and the monthly index down 0.1%. Rate-hike pricing for August came out of the curve on the print. The RBA board next convenes on 10 and 11 August, and forecasters are split: Westpac expects a 25 basis point cut to 3.6%, while CommBank expects no change for the remainder of 2026.
China's official manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2 in July from 50.3 in June on Friday 31 July, against a 50.0 consensus, with the new-orders sub-index at 48.5, its lowest reading since 2023, and production at 49.9. CIA.AU fell 8.8% on Thursday and 5.8% on Friday, and WHC.AU closed the week at $6.98.
Week ahead, Mon 3 to Fri 7 August (AEST)
Five US data releases dominate the calendar in the week beginning 3 August 2026, with no RBA meeting scheduled until 10 August.
- Mon 3 Aug, US ISM manufacturing PMI for July, released 12:00am AEST Tuesday
- Tue 4 Aug, US JOLTS job openings and factory orders for June, released 12:00am AEST Wednesday
- Wed 5 Aug, US ADP private payrolls for July at 10:15pm AEST, followed by ISM services for July at 12:00am AEST Thursday
- Thu 6 Aug, ABS international trade in goods for June at 11:30am AEST, plus US Q2 unit labour costs
- Fri 7 Aug, US non-farm payrolls for July at 10:30pm AEST, the last employment print before the September Fed meeting
- Mon 10 and Tue 11 Aug, RBA board meeting, with CBA full-year results following on 12 August
August reporting season moves into volume from Monday, with more than 250 ASX names scheduled across the month.
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