ASX 200 falls 0.89% to 8,741.2 as copper, uranium and lithium names pull Materials down 3.63%
ASX 200 close: 8,741.2 (-0.89%) Breadth: 47 advancers / 150 decliners across the ASX 200 Sentiment: bearish
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,741.2 on 11 September 2026, down 78.2 points or 0.89%, as Materials fell 3.63% after LME copper dropped 3.1% on Thursday on a Reuters report that the White House had not decided on refined-copper tariffs. Deep Yellow (DYL.AU) fell 9.87% and Paladin Energy (PDN.AU) 9.59% after Ord Minnett and Goldman Sachs both downgraded Paladin on output and funding. Australia's 3-year government bond yield rose above 5%, its highest in about 15 years, as markets priced a 25 bp RBA hike on 29 September, and Financials rose 1.08% against the fall.
What moved the index
- Materials (-3.63%): about 80 bps of the 89 bps index fall, on a sector weight near 22%. BHP.AU fell 4.05% to $60.87 and, at close to a 10% index weight, took roughly 40 bps on its own. Copper producers fell further: CSC.AU -8.12%, SFR.AU -5.38%, S32.AU -4.20%. RIO.AU -3.54%, MIN.AU -3.12% and FMG.AU -3.03% added to the loss.
- Financials (+1.08%): added about 37 bps on a weight near 34%, the only sizeable offset. NAB.AU rose 2.65% to $38.72, ANZ.AU 1.69%, WBC.AU 1.09% and CBA.AU 0.65% to $154.19. Insurers gained most as the 3-year yield crossed 5%: IAG.AU +4.23%, SUN.AU +3.65%, QBE.AU +2.86%. GQG.AU -9.50% and MQG.AU -1.24% were the sector's largest drags.
- Health Care (-1.24%): about 11 bps on a 9% weight. CSL.AU -1.42% to $167.10, COH.AU -2.50%, and TLX.AU -6.50% ahead of a US FDA decision on its Pixclara brain-cancer imaging agent.
- Information Technology (-2.06%) and A-REITs (-0.95%): about 14 bps combined. WTC.AU fell 3.77% to $32.69, XRO.AU 2.53% and GMG.AU 0.92%.
Together these four account for about 68 bps of the 89 bps index move. The residual 21 bps came from Consumer Discretionary (-0.70%), Energy (-0.66%) and a 150-to-47 decliner count.
Session highlights
The S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.89% on 11 September 2026, its fourth straight fall, and the 2.9% five-session loss reported by ABC News leaves the index about flat for 2026.
- 8,701.5 was the session low on five-minute closes, 1.34% under Thursday's 8,819.4 close, before the index recovered 39.7 points into the bell.
- 14.36 was the close on the ASX 200 volatility index, up 9.24%.
- DYL.AU -9.87%, PDN.AU -9.59%, BMN.AU -8.24%, BOE.AU -5.52% and NXG.AU -4.07%: every uranium producer and developer in the sweep fell.
- PLS.AU fell 7.38%, LTR.AU 8.55%, ELV.AU 6.17% and IGO.AU 4.41%. Guangzhou lithium carbonate closed at CNY 144,750 a tonne on 10 September, down 0.69%, as Mineral Resources' Bald Hill and Core Lithium's Finniss restarts add Australian supply.
- 2.69% was the fall in the All Ordinaries Gold index, with RMS.AU -3.11%, GMD.AU -3.29%, EVN.AU -2.44% and NST.AU -2.04%, while COMEX gold eased 0.34% to US$4,392.50 an ounce.
- LYC.AU -4.52% and ILU.AU -4.44%: rare-earth producers fell with the base metals.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Financials (+1.08%)
- Worst: Materials (-3.63%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 4.71 pts
- Financials held the widest internal spread, from IAG.AU +4.23% to GQG.AU -9.50%.
- Remaining sectors: Industrials +0.24%, Utilities +0.24%, Consumer Staples +0.04%, Communication Services -0.08%, Energy -0.66%, Consumer Discretionary -0.70%, A-REITs -0.95%, Health Care -1.24%, Information Technology -2.06%.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| MXT.AU | +4.26% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| IAG.AU | +4.23% | Largest general insurer, up as the 3-year yield topped 5%. |
| SUN.AU | +3.65% | Insurer, higher with QBE.AU +2.86%. |
| AUB.AU | +3.33% | Insurance broker, followed the insurers. |
| INA.AU | +3.12% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| DYL.AU | -9.87% | Uranium sell-off after two broker downgrades of PDN.AU. |
| PDN.AU | -9.59% | Ord Minnett and Goldman Sachs downgrades on Langer Heinrich output. |
| GQG.AU | -9.50% | August FUM fell to US$149.2bn on US$4.3bn of net outflows. |
| DVP.AU | -8.75% | No announcement; Pioneer Dome stage-two decision due this quarter. |
| LTR.AU | -8.55% | Lithium carbonate at CNY 144,750/t as Australian mines restart. |
Notable announcements
GQG Partners (GQG.AU) reported funds under management of US$149.2 billion at 31 August 2026, down from US$156.4 billion a month earlier.
- GQG.AU -9.50% to $1.095: net outflows were US$4.3 billion in August and investment performance cut a further US$2.9 billion.
- PDN.AU -9.59% to $10.28: Ord Minnett set a $9.00 target and trimmed FY28 to FY30 Langer Heinrich output to 5.7 million pounds a year against 6 million pounds nameplate, and flagged a capital raise for Patterson Lake South. Goldman Sachs also lowered its rating.
- TLX.AU -6.50% to $15.67: the FDA decision date for Pixclara (TLX101-Px), a PET imaging agent for glioma, is 11 September US time. Telix has not included Pixclara sales in its 2026 guidance.
At the AU close (17:35 AEST)
| Asset | Level | Change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 futures | 7,631.00 | +0.43% | US August CPI due 22:30 AEST |
| Nasdaq 100 futures | 29,261.00 | +0.43% | Nasdaq fell 0.65% on Thursday |
| S&P 500 (Thursday close) | 7,591.70 | -0.58% | Dow -0.60%, Russell 2000 -1.04% |
| Nikkei 225 | 64,011.34 | -1.93% | closed for the day |
| KOSPI | 6,909.91 | -1.76% | closed for the day |
| Hang Seng | 24,788.24 | -0.67% | still trading at the AU close |
| STOXX 600 | 637.62 | +0.26% | early European session |
| Brent | US$105.38 | -2.09% | off this week's US$109.97 four-month high |
| Gold | US$4,392.50/oz | -0.34% | COMEX December contract |
| Copper | US$6.573/lb | +0.38% | after Thursday's tariff-report fall |
| AUD/USD | 0.7175 | +0.20% | RBA hike priced for 29 September |
| US 10-year yield | 4.94% | +11 bps | Thursday close |
Next 24h catalysts (AEST)
- Fri 22:30: US August CPI (08:30 ET), with the US 10-year at 4.94%
- Fri overnight: FDA decision on TLX.AU's Pixclara glioma imaging agent
- Mon 10:00: ASX open, the first local session after US CPI
- Tue 15 Sep 12:00: China August industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment
- Thu 17 Sep 04:00: US Federal Reserve rate decision
- Fri 18 Sep 13:00: Bank of Japan rate decision
- Tue 29 Sep: RBA decision, with a 25 bp hike from 4.35% priced
Context only, not financial advice. Track your own trades with Swingfolio.