ASX 200 slips 0.18% to 9,053.8 as CSL offsets a WiseTech raid and a 5.80% Kospi rout
ASX 200 close: 9,053.8 (-0.18%) Breadth: 95 advancers / 134 decliners across the 246 ASX large caps surveyed Sentiment: mixed
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 9,053.8 on 19 August 2026, down 16.2 points or 0.18%, with CSL.AU lifting Health Care 2.60% and nearly covering a 0.64% fall in Financials, the index's heaviest sector. WiseTech Global WTC.AU fell 8.70% to $39.58 after the ACCC executed a search warrant seeking documents on its supply of global logistics software. South Korea's Kospi lost 5.80% and Japan's Nikkei 3.16% on overnight memory-chip selling, against 16 points off the ASX 200.
What moved the index
Sector index closes weighted by approximate S&P/ASX 200 sector weights. The benchmark moved 18 basis points.
- Health Care (+2.60%) was worth about 25 bps at a ~9.5% index weight, the day's largest positive. CSL.AU rose 5.49% to $166.48 in its second session after FY26 revenue of US$15.8 billion and underlying profit of US$3.1 billion, a year the company called a reset. Sonic Healthcare SHL.AU added 2.35%.
- Financials (-0.64%) cancelled almost all of it, about 22 bps at a ~34% weight. Three of the four majors fell: NAB.AU 0.71%, WBC.AU 0.63% and ANZ.AU 0.16%, against CBA.AU up 0.49%. Challenger CGF.AU dropped 5.04% and Judo Capital JDO.AU 5.14%.
- WiseTech WTC.AU took Information Technology (-3.15%) with it, about 11 bps at a ~3.5% weight. Hansen Technologies HSN.AU did the rest, falling 21.18% to $3.35 after FY26 revenue slipped 1.5% to $386.5 million, a 3% miss against Ord Minnett's forecast, with management flagging FY27 as a transition year.
- Real Estate (-1.15%) cost about 7 bps despite housing two of the session's best results. Stockland SGP.AU gained 12.35% and Mirvac MGR.AU 6.32% on FY26 numbers, but Goodman Group GMG.AU outweighs both and fell 4.10% to $29.22.
Together these four account for roughly 15 bps of the 18 bps decline. The residual sits in Consumer Discretionary (-0.58%, about 4 bps), partly offset by Energy (+0.77%, about 3 bps).
Session highlights
- The June-quarter Wage Price Index landed at 11:30am AEST: wages rose 0.8% in the quarter and 3.2% over the year, with private sector growth at 3.1% and public sector at 3.4%. Only 10% of private sector jobs recorded a wage change, the smallest share since the June quarter of 2020.
- Health Care and Information Technology finished 5.75 percentage points apart, and 6 of 11 sectors closed higher on a day the benchmark fell.
- Kospi -5.80% to 6,471.17, Nikkei -3.16% to 65,326.42, Shanghai Composite -2.40% to 3,894.42. Hang Seng was steadier at -0.06%.
- Japanese 30-year yields fell 4 bps to 4.09%, off a multi-decade high. Local long-duration names still lagged: Goodman GMG.AU -4.10%, NextDC NXT.AU -5.63%.
- Energy (+0.77%) was the second-best sector with Brent at US$91.68, up 0.73%. Santos STO.AU rose 2.47% and Woodside WDS.AU 1.18%.
- A-VIX fell 1.99% to 10.68, and the index closed below its 20-day moving average.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Health Care (+2.60%)
- Worst: Information Technology (-3.15%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 5.75 pts
- Real Estate (-1.15%) had the widest internal split: 6 of the 22 property names surveyed rose, led by Stockland at +12.35%, while Goodman at -4.10% outweighed the gains.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| MAH.AU | +12.71% | Rebound from an 8.59% fall on its 18 Aug FY26 result |
| SGP.AU | +12.35% | FY26 FFO up 10.4% to $892m, top of guidance |
| FBU.AU | +8.77% | FY26 return to profit, EBIT $414m, up 26% |
| SLC.AU | +6.73% | FY26 revenue $664m, up 21.6%; NPAT $17.5m vs $1.2m |
| MGR.AU | +6.32% | FY26 operating profit up 7%, $200m buy-back announced |
| HSN.AU | -21.18% | FY26 revenue missed by 3%; FY27 flagged a transition year |
| WTC.AU | -8.70% | ACCC search warrant on logistics software supply |
| IPX.AU | -7.93% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven |
| 360.AU | -6.89% | Tracked the overnight US technology sell-off |
| ARU.AU | -6.82% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven |
Notable announcements
- Stockland SGP.AU: FY26 post-tax funds from operations of $892 million, up 10.4%, at 36.9 cents per security and the top of guidance. Statutory profit $994 million, up 20.2%. FY27 guidance of 38.0 to 39.0 cents per security.
- Mirvac MGR.AU: FY26 operating profit $508 million, up 7%, and distributions of $376 million, up 6%, both in line with guidance. On-market buy-back of up to $200 million, portfolio occupancy 98%.
- Hansen Technologies HSN.AU: FY26 revenue $386.5 million, down 1.5%, with underlying EBITDA up 7.2% to $119.6 million and margin up 250 bps to 31.0%. Operating cash flow rose 52.0% to $110.4 million.
- Superloop SLC.AU: FY26 revenue $664 million, up 21.6%, underlying EBITDA $122.7 million, up 33%, and 205,000 customers added to reach 935,000.
- Fletcher Building FBU.AU: FY26 EBIT from continuing operations before significant items of $414 million, up 26%, returning the group to profit.
At the AU close (16:15 AEST)
| Asset | Level | Change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 futures | 7,714.0 | 0.00% | Cash index fell 0.69% on Tuesday |
| Nasdaq 100 futures | 29,561.5 | -0.08% | Nasdaq Composite fell 1.33% on Tuesday |
| Nikkei 225 | 65,326.4 | -3.16% | Memory names led the selling |
| Kospi | 6,471.2 | -5.80% | SK Hynix, Samsung and Kioxia led the fall |
| Brent | US$91.68 | +0.73% | WTI up 0.86% to US$84.78 |
| Gold | US$4,405.80/oz | -0.33% | Comex futures |
| AUD/USD | 0.7074 | -0.19% | AUD/JPY 112.54, down 0.45% |
Next 24h catalysts (AEST)
- Thu 20 Aug: Goodman Group GMG.AU reports FY26, one session after falling 4.10%.
- Thu 20 Aug: Brambles BXB.AU, APA Group APA.AU, Sonic Healthcare SHL.AU, Dexus DXS.AU and Vicinity Centres VCX.AU report.
- Thu 20 Aug, 22:30: US weekly jobless claims.
- Fri 21 Aug, 04:00: Minutes of the 28 to 29 July FOMC meeting.
- Fri 21 Aug: James Hardie JHX.AU, TPG Telecom TPG.AU, Inghams ING.AU and GQG Partners GQG.AU report.
- Wed 26 Aug: WiseTech WTC.AU reports FY26, one week after today's search warrant.
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