ASX 200 Closes Down 0.80% at 9,115.2 as Miners Fall a Third Day and Tech Rallies 2.83%
ASX 200 close: 9,115.2 (-0.80%) Breadth: 76 advancers / 144 decliners across a 232-name large-cap sweep Sentiment: bearish
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 9,115.2 on 14 August 2026, down 73.3 points or 0.80%, as the materials sector fell 2.58% in a third straight session of mining declines and handed back most of an eight-day, 11% run. SEK.AU rose 9.13% to $15.18, the largest single-name gain, extending a two-session rebound from the 14% fall that followed its FY26 result on 12 August. Information technology rose 2.83% to its highest level since 4 February after WDAY.US gained 17.7% overnight on a Reuters report that Silver Lake is in takeover talks.
What moved the index
- Materials, down 2.58%: roughly a fifth of the index by weight, worth about 50 basis points of the 80 basis point fall. BHP.AU fell 3.31% to $61.35, RIO.AU 3.14% to $167.59, S32.AU 3.45% to $4.76 and FMG.AU 1.34% to $17.64. The sector had climbed 11% over eight sessions to within 2% of its 17 June high before this three-day reversal.
- Gold miners, down 2.38%: the gold sub-index fell a second session after snapping a nine-day winning streak on Thursday. EVN.AU lost 3.44%, NST.AU 2.26%, VAU.AU 2.48% and WGX.AU 2.92%, with spot bullion down 0.71% to US$4,389 an ounce.
- Information technology, up 2.83%: about 3% of the index and worth roughly 8 basis points the other way. WTC.AU gained 5.55% to $43.38, XRO.AU 5.54% to $81.48 and TNE.AU 3.20% to $33.82, tracking a 3.1% overnight rise in the iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF.
- Financials, down 0.12%: the heaviest sector barely moved, because ANZ.AU rose 2.23% to $38.89 against CBA.AU down 1.08% and WBC.AU down 0.92%. Financials have still fallen 4.2% over the last six sessions on mixed bank quarterlies.
Materials plus industrials (-1.38%), property (-0.78%) and health care (-0.68%) account for roughly 74 basis points of the 80 basis point index move. Technology, utilities and consumer names offset about 13 of those. The residual 19 basis points sits in communication services and in rounding on the approximate sector weights.
Session highlights
- 9,115.2 was 24 points above the session low of 9,091.2, after the index traded 0.92% lower around 2:00pm AEST and recovered into the 4:00pm bell.
- Five of the last six sessions have now closed lower, a reversal of the 5.7% climb between 24 July and 6 August that carried the index to its record high.
- PDN.AU fell 4.52%, BMN.AU 4.96%, SLX.AU 3.91% and DYL.AU 3.37%, putting uranium alongside iron ore, copper and aluminium among the materials decliners.
- ANZ.AU added 2.23% for a second session after its third-quarter update showed cash profit up 1% to $1.90 billion and home lending back at system growth.
- New home loans fell 5.4% to 134,225 in the June quarter, the ABS reported, with investor lending down 8.6% for its largest quarterly fall since September 2022.
Sector scorecard
- Best: information technology (+2.83%)
- Worst: materials (-2.58%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 5.41 points
- Financials showed the widest internal spread of the large sectors: ANZ.AU +2.23% and IAG.AU +4.23% against ASX.AU -3.68%, QBE.AU -1.62% and CBA.AU -1.08%, leaving the sector index down just 0.12%.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| SEK.AU | +9.13% | Second-session rebound after a 14% result-day fall on 12 August |
| TUA.AU | +6.22% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven |
| ASB.AU | +5.57% | Hanwha Defence USA offer of US$1.05bn to US$1.2bn for Austal USA |
| WTC.AU | +5.55% | Overnight software bid on the WDAY.US takeover report |
| XRO.AU | +5.54% | Same software bid, after Adyen lifted FY26 revenue growth guidance to 21-23% |
| SKG.AU | -8.30% | FY27 distribution guidance of 4.50 cents, down 27.4% year on year |
| MSB.AU | -7.14% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven |
| 4DX.AU | -6.91% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven |
| DVP.AU | -6.71% | No announcement; a copper and gold name inside a 2.58% sector fall |
| CU6.AU | -6.07% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven |
Notable announcements
- QBE.AU reported 1H26 adjusted profit up 4% to US$1,033 million with a combined operating ratio of 92.8% and an interim dividend of 33 cents, and closed down 1.62% at $23.09 after trading 5.5% lower in the morning.
- SKG.AU posted FY26 funds from operations down 3.4% to $82.1 million and guided FY27 distributions to 4.50 cents per security as interest rate hedges roll off.
- ASX.AU fell 3.68% to $58.29, unwinding part of the prior session's reaction to an FY26 result showing operating revenue of $1.25 billion and underlying profit up 5.2%.
- ING.AU confirmed it has received no takeover approach after reports on 13 August named PSP Investments as weighing a bid, and closed down 0.45%.
- QUB.AU completed its scheme of arrangement with Rubik Australia at $5.20 per share and leaves the ASX official list after trading on 17 August.
At 17:30 AEST
| Asset | Level | Change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 futures | 7,821.0 | -0.02% | Flat after Thursday's record cash close at 7,798.99 |
| Nasdaq 100 futures | 30,176.3 | -0.04% | Holding Thursday's 0.81% Nasdaq gain |
| US VIX | 14.64 | +0.07% | Little changed overnight |
| Nikkei 225 | 68,713.8 | +0.59% | Closed higher |
| KOSPI | 6,977.9 | +2.42% | Extending a 22% rebound from the 30 July low |
| Hang Seng | 25,134.6 | -1.03% | Still trading at the AU close |
| Brent crude | US$88.40 | +1.53% | Recovering after a 2.36% overnight fall |
| Gold | US$4,389/oz | -0.71% | Second session lower |
| AUD/USD | 0.7070 | +0.16% | Steady through the local session |
Next week's catalysts (AEST)
- Mon 17 Aug JBH.AU, BSL.AU, AZJ.AU, GPT.AU, LLC.AU and A2M.AU report FY26 results, and NAB.AU releases a third-quarter update.
- Tue 18 Aug BHP.AU reports FY26 against consensus profit of US$12.4 billion and a dividend of 162.2 US cents, with CSL.AU, COH.AU and PME.AU also reporting.
- Wed 19 Aug EVN.AU, STO.AU, AMC.AU, SGP.AU, MGR.AU and WHC.AU report.
- Thu 20 Aug FMG.AU, GMG.AU, NST.AU, APA.AU, SHL.AU and MPL.AU report, the heaviest single day of the season so far.
- Fri 21 Aug CHC.AU, ING.AU, JHX.AU and TPG.AU close out the week.
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