ASX 200 falls 0.45% as Seek and Premier Investments lead reporting-season selling
ASX 200 close: 9,209.4 (-0.45%) Breadth: 89 advancers / 135 decliners across the 233-name large-cap sweep Sentiment: bearish
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 9,209.4 on 12 August 2026, down 41.2 points or 0.45%, as result-day selling in Seek, Premier Investments and Computershare outweighed a 2.64% gain in Utilities. Seek SEK.AU fell 14.31% to $13.77 after guiding FY27 adjusted net profit to $185m to $215m, roughly 13% below consensus at the midpoint. Commonwealth Bank CBA.AU reported cash profit up 7% to $10.98bn and still finished 0.69% lower, in a session where the index never traded above Tuesday's close.
What moved the index
- Banks and Macquarie: CBA.AU -0.69%, NAB.AU -0.85%, WBC.AU -0.90%, ANZ.AU -0.60% and MQG.AU -0.68%. At about 25% of index weight, that is worth roughly 18 bps of the 45 bps decline. CBA's FY26 cash profit of $10.98bn beat consensus by 1% and carried a $5.05 full-year dividend, and the stock fell anyway.
- Iron ore and diversified miners: BHP.AU -0.75%, RIO.AU -0.24%, FMG.AU -0.33% and S32.AU -3.50%, about 15% of weight and near 12 bps. South32 alone accounted for roughly a fifth of that.
- Result-day fallers: SEK.AU -14.31%, PMV.AU -11.01%, TPW.AU -5.99%, SUL.AU -5.48%, CPU.AU -4.47% and LOV.AU -4.47% averaged -7.62%. They carry about 1.3% of index weight and still cost close to 8 bps.
- Utilities and insurers pushed the other way: AGL.AU +5.95%, ORG.AU +2.93%, APA.AU +1.00%, SUN.AU +3.34% and IAG.AU +2.62% added back roughly 5 bps.
Together those four groups account for about 33 bps of the 45 bps fall. The residual 12 bps came from the rest of the board: Real Estate closed -1.02%, Communication Services -0.79% and Consumer Staples -0.76%, and 135 of the 233 large caps surveyed finished lower.
Session highlights
- 9,250.6 was both Tuesday's close and Wednesday's high. The index gapped lower at the open, bottomed at 9,185.5, and recovered only part of that by the bell.
- SEK.AU -14.31% posted FY26 adjusted net profit of $199.1m, 1% ahead of consensus, then guided FY27 to a midpoint 13% below it. Revenue and EBITDA guidance also landed short.
- PMV.AU -11.01% flagged FY26 underlying EBIT near $176m against the $183m guided on 20 March, and exited Peter Alexander's three UK stores. Chairman Solomon Lew called second-half discretionary conditions very challenging.
- Retail followed Premier down: SUL.AU -5.48%, LOV.AU -4.47%, NCK.AU -1.67%, HVN.AU -1.80% and JBH.AU -0.26%. Consumer Discretionary closed -0.81%.
- LTR.AU +5.51% led lithium higher after Liontown's Diggers and Dealers presentation pointed to firmer spodumene demand and better Kathleen Valley output. PLS.AU +4.27%, IGO.AU +3.46% and MIN.AU +2.10% followed.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Utilities (+2.64%)
- Worst: Real Estate (-1.02%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 3.66 pts
- Only two of the eleven GICS sectors closed higher, Utilities and Information Technology (+0.16%). Seven of the nine decliners finished between -0.42% and -1.02%.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| CDA.AU | +9.30% | Reaffirmed FY26 EBIT near $235m, up more than 60% on FY25 |
| AAI.AU | +7.88% | Aluminium +0.8% overnight to US$3,348/t, up 4.5% in five sessions |
| HLI.AU | +7.09% | Extended gains on a 16c ordinary plus 27c special dividend |
| AGL.AU | +5.95% | FY27 profit guidance 3% above consensus, final dividend lifted to 26c |
| LTR.AU | +5.51% | Diggers and Dealers update on spodumene demand and Kathleen Valley |
| SEK.AU | -14.31% | FY27 profit guidance 13% below consensus at the midpoint |
| PMV.AU | -11.01% | FY26 EBIT near $176m, 3.8% under March guidance |
| TPW.AU | -5.99% | No announcement; fell with the discretionary retail board |
| SUL.AU | -5.48% | Followed Premier's FY26 downgrade lower, no result of its own |
| CPU.AU | -4.47% | FY27 EPS growth near 6% undershot Macquarie's 7.2% forecast |
Notable announcements
- CBA.AU FY26 cash profit $10.98bn, up 7% and 1% ahead of consensus, with a $5.05 full-year dividend. The bank grew at or above system across all five core domestic product categories for the first time in 15 years.
- SUN.AU cash earnings $1.04bn in line and net profit $1.03bn 2% ahead, funding a 10c special dividend and a fresh $250m buyback, with hazard costs $254m above allowance.
- CPU.AU management EPS up 7% to US145.2c, in line, with the final dividend up 35%.
- AGL.AU underlying net profit $631m, 1% short, offset by FY27 guidance of $470m to $670m.
- BVS.AU +12.54% on underlying net profit of $63.1m, 16% ahead of estimates, a $50m buyback and a 15c final dividend.
At the AU close (16:15 AEST)
| Asset | Level | Change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 futures | 7,758.0 | +0.14% | Steady ahead of US July CPI |
| Nasdaq 100 futures | 29,735.0 | +0.37% | Leading the US futures board |
| Nikkei 225 | 67,524.1 | +0.83% | Closed at 16:00 AEST |
| Hang Seng | 25,418.8 | -0.91% | Still trading at the AU bell |
| KOSPI | 6,579.0 | +3.68% | Largest regional move of the day |
| Brent | US$89.52 | +0.69% | Extends Tuesday's 1.6% settle gain |
| Gold | US$4,461.2/oz | +0.45% | Holding above US$4,400 into CPI |
| AUD/USD | 0.7059 | -0.04% | Flat through the local session |
Next 24h catalysts (AEST)
- Wed 22:30 US July CPI. Consensus is 3.4% headline year on year from 3.5% in June, with core at 2.5%.
- Thu 09:15 Telstra TLS.AU FY26 result and webcast. Consensus net profit $2,332.6m. TLS.AU closed +0.40% today.
- Thu 10:00 ASX open prices the CPI print and any move in US futures overnight.
- Thu FY26 reporting continues across the ASX 200 after Wednesday's run of results.
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