ASX 200 ends week 1.60% lower at 9,115.2 as bank results drag, energy and lithium lead
ASX 200 week close: 9,115.2 (-1.60%) S&P 500 Friday close: 7,785.76 (-0.17%) Sentiment: bearish
The week on the ASX
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 9,115.2 on Friday 14 August 2026, down 148.4 points or 1.60% across the five sessions, its first weekly loss after a record close of 9,271.60 on 6 August. Commonwealth Bank CBA.AU fell 6.09% following its FY26 result on 12 August, and at roughly 9% of the index that single name subtracted about 55 basis points. The Reserve Bank held the cash rate at 4.35% on Tuesday 11 August, with Governor Michele Bullock saying inflation remains too high.
Banks accounted for half the week's move. CBA.AU -6.09%, Westpac WBC.AU -6.75% and National Australia Bank NAB.AU -2.04% outweighed ANZ ANZ.AU +3.07%, and on index weights the big four cost roughly 80 basis points of the 160 basis point decline. Miners took another 40 basis points, with BHP.AU -2.57%, Rio Tinto RIO.AU -5.68%, Fortescue FMG.AU -2.11% and South32 S32.AU -4.03%. RIO.AU traded ex a A$3.03 dividend on 13 August, so about 1.7 percentage points of its fall is the distribution rather than a price move. Energy, technology and healthcare added back close to 50 basis points. Of 227 ASX names capitalised above A$1 billion, 127 fell and 93 rose.
Sector scorecard (5-day)
- Utilities +7.56% led all 11 sectors, on three members: ORG.AU +11.55%, AGL.AU +7.17% and APA.AU +1.51%
- Healthcare +3.58% and Technology +3.55% ranked next, with XRO.AU +6.43% and WTC.AU +5.86% each adding more than 5% on Friday alone
- Energy +2.66% tracked Brent, which settled at US$88.52 for a 5.95% weekly gain
- Financial Services -3.08% across 37 names was the deepest cap-weighted drag, ahead of Industrials -2.38% and Real Estate -1.83%
- Dispersion (Utilities minus Financial Services): 10.6 points
Top movers, week ending 14 August 2026
| Ticker | Week | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| BVS.AU | +28.21% | FY26 cash EBITDA $77 million, up 76%; dividend beat consensus |
| CXO.AU | +24.56% | Finniss restart funded, first spodumene targeted December quarter |
| FPR.AU | +21.33% | Board rejected SG Fleet at $3.60, Element indicated $3.80 |
| LIN.AU | +20.43% | Took full ownership of the SARECO rare earths plant in Kazakhstan |
| CWY.AU | +13.87% | EQT Infrastructure proposed $3.13 cash, a 32% premium |
| ARF.AU | -29.88% | Childcare tenant Edge sought rent relief across 31 centres |
| 360.AU | -17.58% | Record Q2 revenue US$159 million, EBITDA guidance unchanged |
| 4DX.AU | -13.74% | Most-shorted ASX stock this week. Unannounced, likely flow-driven |
| CQE.AU | -10.58% | Edge exposure is 1% of income, FY27 guidance reaffirmed |
| HDN.AU | -10.47% | FY27 funds from operations guided to 8.8 cents from 9.0 cents |
Three of the five biggest losers are landlords exposed to one tenant. Edge Early Learning leases 31 properties from Arena REIT ARF.AU and pays 14% of its rent, and after missing August payments the operator sought deferral or abatement while Arena issued default notices. Charter Hall Social Infrastructure CQE.AU holds three Edge sites worth about 1% of income and reaffirmed FY27 earnings and distribution guidance, and lost 10.58% regardless.
Friday US session
- S&P 500: 7,785.76 (-0.17%)
- Nasdaq: 26,729.16 (-0.28%)
- Dow: 53,732.41 (-0.20%)
- VIX: 14.25 (-2.60%)
US July retail sales fell 0.6% against expectations of a 0.1% rise, and excluding autos fell 0.3% against a forecast 0.2% gain. The S&P 500 closed 0.17% below Thursday's record 7,798.99, leaving a third consecutive weekly advance of 0.36%. The Nasdaq gained 0.14% for the week and the Dow lost 0.56%. AUD/USD ended at 0.7087, up 0.76%, which lowers the Australian dollar value of USD revenue at CSL.AU and Computershare CPU.AU. The US 10-year yield finished at 4.696%, up from 4.66% a week earlier.
Macro themes that played out
The RBA held at 4.35% on 11 August for a second consecutive meeting, with Bullock saying trimmed mean inflation remains elevated. HDN.AU guided FY27 funds from operations to 8.8 cents from 9.0 cents on higher debt costs and closed 10.47% lower, CLW.AU lost 6.77% and SKG.AU 10.08%, leaving Real Estate at -1.83% cap-weighted for the week.
Brent added 5.95% to US$88.52 and WTI 5.40% to US$82.40. ORG.AU gained 11.55% on an FY26 result that raised adjusted free cash flow by $867 million to $2,074 million and paid 60 cents in full-year dividends, and AGL.AU rose 7.17% on underlying EBITDA of $2.1 billion. Gold settled at US$4,380.40 an ounce for a 0.91% weekly gain without lifting local producers, where NST.AU fell 0.79% and EVN.AU 1.42%. The Australian volatility index AXVI rose 7.30% to 10.98.
CXO.AU +24.56%, LTR.AU +8.05%, PLS.AU +6.33% and IGO.AU +5.91% rose after Liontown used the Diggers and Dealers forum to flag improving spodumene demand and better operating performance at Kathleen Valley. LIN.AU +20.43% and ARU.AU +10.26% traded on project news, with Lindian taking full ownership of its Kazakh processing plant ahead of first production targeted for the December quarter.
Week ahead, Mon to Fri (AEST)
- Mon 17 Aug JBH.AU FY26 result opens the reporting week
- Tue 18 Aug BHP.AU FY26 result, consensus net profit US$12.4 billion, and CSL.AU FY26 result, consensus net profit US$3.1 billion
- Wed 19 Aug RBA Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser speaks at 12:45pm
- Thu 20 Aug ABS Labour Force for July at 11:30am, July FOMC minutes at 4:00am, GMG.AU FY26 result with consensus net profit A$2.7 billion, and CWY.AU FY26 result
- Fri 21 Aug US flash S&P Global manufacturing and services PMIs, the Philadelphia Fed index and existing home sales
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