ASX 200 climbs 0.60% to 9,092.3 as a Nasdaq software rally lifts local tech and the banks bounce

ASX 200 close: 9,092.3 (+0.60%) Breadth: 134 advancers / 143 decliners (ASX 300) Sentiment: mixed

The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 9,092.3 on 28 August 2026, up 54.1 points or 0.60%, as an overnight Nasdaq gain of 1.57% lifted local technology 2.31% and financials rebounded 0.75% off a 10% drawdown. Dicker Data DDR.AU rose 20.66% to $15.30 on FY26 net profit of $60.7 million against $53.4 million consensus, the largest gain in the ASX 300 and outside the benchmark itself. Advancers trailed decliners 134 to 143 across the ASX 300, so the 54 points came from index weight at the top rather than participation.

What moved the index

• Financials (+0.75%), worth roughly 26 bps of the 60 bps index move. CBA.AU rose 1.48% to $157.25, with NAB.AU +0.82%, ANZ.AU +0.74% and WBC.AU +0.65%. The sector had fallen in 13 of the previous 18 sessions and sat more than 10% below its 6 August high going into today.
• Materials (+0.98%), worth roughly 19 bps. SGX iron ore futures gained 0.64% to US$98.40/t, lifting BHP.AU +1.36% to $67.30, FMG.AU +2.09% and CIA.AU +1.42%. Lithium ran harder on a rebound in Chinese carbonate futures: VUL.AU +5.04%, LTR.AU +4.37%, PLS.AU +4.08%, IGO.AU +3.50%.
• Information Technology (+2.31%), worth roughly 12 bps. Salesforce rose 22.5% and CrowdStrike 20.5% in New York overnight, and the local names followed: XRO.AU +4.78% to $85.64, TNE.AU +3.48%, WTC.AU +2.68%.
• A-REIT (-0.78%), costing roughly 5 bps and the only material drag. Global bond yields rose again overnight, and PXA.AU fell 17.43% on its FY26 result. INA.AU -2.95%, SGP.AU -2.49% and CHC.AU -1.46% followed it down.

Together those four account for about 52 bps of the 60 bps move, with energy (+0.66%) and consumer discretionary (+0.44%) supplying most of the remaining 8 bps. Nine of the eleven sectors finished higher. The two that did not, A-REIT and utilities, are the two most exposed to the bond yields that rose overnight.

Session highlights

• DDR.AU rose 20.66% to $15.30 on FY26 net profit of $60.7 million, up 54.1% and ahead of the $53.4 million consensus. The close was a 52-week high, taking the ASX 300 distributor up 65.4% over twelve months.
• SBM.AU, also outside the ASX 200, gained 20.30% to $0.800 on a $490 million FY26 statutory profit, almost all of it a $500 million gain on the deconsolidation of New Simberi Gold. A maiden fully franked dividend of 5.0 cents came with an underlying loss of $29 million and cash of $475 million against no debt.
• WAM.AU fell 18.54% to $1.23 after cutting its FY27 dividend target 48% to 8.0 cents. The FY26 portfolio fell 10.5% while the All Ordinaries Accumulation Index rose 5.7%, an underperformance of more than 16 percentage points.
• PXA.AU dropped 17.43% to $6.68 on FY26 net profit of $19.2 million against $49.7 million consensus, with FY27 revenue guided to $385 million to $415 million and an IPART draft report proposing a 20% cut to regulated revenue from FY28.
• The AU volatility index closed at 10.28, down 4.36%. The index itself finished on its session high of 9,092.3, 45.7 points above the 9,046.6 low.

Sector scorecard

• Best: Information Technology (+2.31%)
• Worst: A-REIT (-0.78%)
• Dispersion (best minus worst): 3.09 pts
• Nine of eleven sectors closed higher. Materials held the widest internal spread among index members, running from VUL.AU +5.04% at one end to PMT.AU -4.81% at the other.

Top movers (ASX 200)

Six larger moves sat outside the benchmark, in the ASX 300 rather than the ASX 200: DDR.AU +20.66%, SBM.AU +20.30%, ZIM.AU +8.37%, CU6.AU +7.26%, MMS.AU +7.14% and MAQ.AU -8.54%.

Notable announcements

• VGN.AU declared a fully franked 7.6 cent dividend, its first since relisting, on FY26 underlying net profit of $404 million, up 21.9%. The stock closed 1.42% lower at $2.77 as FY27 guidance pointed to first-half earnings flat on the prior year.
• MMS.AU reported FY26 underlying NPATA of $107.9 million, up 13.8%, with a 132 cent fully franked annual dividend and novated leases under management up 13.5% to 90,000.
• WGX.AU declared a 10 cent fully franked FY26 dividend, lifting total FY26 capital returns 329% to about $122 million against free cash flow of $602 million. The stock closed 1.52% higher at $6.66.
• ELV.AU posted a US$44 million FY26 net profit in its first year after the Sayona and Piedmont merger, on revenue up 39% to US$202 million. It closed 0.95% lower at $8.30.
• CBO.AU reported an FY26 net loss of $4.2 million against a $49.6 million profit a year earlier, closing at $2.81 and a 52-week low.

At the AU close (17:45 AEST)

Next 24h catalysts (AEST)

• Fri, all day: Jackson Hole symposium day one. Three regional Fed presidents opened it warning on inflation, with Cleveland's Beth Hammack saying now is the time to act.
• Sat 12:00: Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh delivers his first Jackson Hole keynote as chair. Futures price roughly a 35% chance of a quarter-point hike at the 16 September FOMC, and the 30-year Treasury yield sits at 5.19% after touching 5.34% last week.
• Mon: China releases the August NBS manufacturing PMI. July printed 49.2, a fifth straight month below 50, and iron ore has pushed back toward US$98/t.
• Mon 10:00: ASX reopens. The XJO finished the week up 33.4 points or 0.37%, holding 1.4% below its intraweek high.

Context only, not financial advice. Track your own trades with Swingfolio.