ASX 200 ends the week up 0.20% at 8,682.1 after the RBA lifts rates to 4.60%
ASX 200 week close: 8,682.1 (+0.20%) S&P 500 Friday close: 7,722.72 (+0.73%) Sentiment: mixed
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,682.1 on 2 October 2026, up 17.1 points or 0.20% for the week and its first weekly gain in five, as a 7.34% rise in information technology offset Thursday's 1.99% fall after the RBA lifted the cash rate 25 basis points to 4.60%. MEI.AU gained 31.58% after Lynas Rare Earths agreed to buy it in an all-share deal valued at A$968 million. August CPI rose 4.0% over the year, up from 3.5% in July, and the US 10-year Treasury yield finished the week 9 basis points higher at 5.28%.
The week on the ASX
The ASX 200 rose 0.17% to 8,679.7 on Monday, 0.34% to 8,709.3 on Tuesday and 0.92% to 8,789.3 on Wednesday, then fell 1.99% to 8,614.4 on Thursday, a four-month low, before a 0.79% rebound to 8,682.1 on Friday. The All Ordinaries finished at 8,854.7, up 0.10%, and the S&P/ASX 200 VIX eased 2.27% to 11.27.
The RBA raised the cash rate to 4.60% on Tuesday 29 September, its fourth increase of 2026 and the highest setting since October 2011. The index closed 0.34% higher that day as CDA.AU and MP1.AU lifted technology 4.6%. On Wednesday the ABS reported August CPI at 4.0% annual, with prices up 0.4% in the month (0.7% seasonally adjusted), and the index added 80 points.
The ASX 200 lost 174.9 points on Thursday as the US 10-year yield held near 5.29%, and LTR.AU fell 15% after brokers cut price targets on Kathleen Valley expansion costs. Friday's 68-point recovery came with the US 10-year easing to 5.24% before the payrolls release and technology adding 4.45%.
Sector scorecard (5-day)
- Information technology: +7.34%, the best sector, on CDA.AU +29.09%, MP1.AU +13.86% and DTL.AU +22.61%.
- Consumer discretionary: +2.64%, with JBH.AU up 6.92% for the week.
- Health care: -1.21%, the worst sector, as COH.AU lost 11.88% after it was served with a shareholder class action.
- Energy: -1.00%, with KAR.AU down 12.89%; December Brent rose 5.40% to US$102.70 over the same five sessions.
- Materials: -0.45%, as gold futures fell 3.45% to US$4,172/oz and lithium names LTR.AU and CXO.AU each lost more than 14%.
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 8.55 points between technology and health care.
Top movers: week ending 2 October 2026
| Ticker | Week | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| MEI.AU | +31.58% | Lynas agreed on 1 October to buy it in a A$968 million all-share deal |
| CDA.AU | +29.09% | Guided first-half profit to at least A$160 million on 29 September; record high |
| DTL.AU | +22.61% | Guided first-half pre-tax profit more than 40% higher on 1 October |
| BTR.AU | +17.09% | Deep drilling at Two Mile Hill logged visible gold, reported 30 September |
| MP1.AU | +13.86% | Three AI contracts worth $978.6 million; FY27 revenue guidance raised to $720 to $810 million |
| LIN.AU | -26.05% | Fell 18% Wednesday as it confirmed Malawi export rules leave Kangankunde unaffected |
| AMI.AU | -19.05% | Macquarie cut its rating to neutral with a $0.53 target this week |
| DVP.AU | -18.23% | Fell 10% on Wednesday, a day after its first FY27 production and cost guidance |
| LTR.AU | -15.43% | Kathleen Valley expansion costs; Macquarie cut its target 5% to $1.20 |
| CXO.AU | -14.49% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
Friday US session
- S&P 500: 7,722.72 (+0.73%)
- Nasdaq: 27,190.86 (+1.19%)
- Dow: 51,176.96 (+0.49%)
- VIX: 15.31 (-6.59%)
US non-farm payrolls rose 29,000 in September against an 84,000 forecast, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.2%. Traders cut the odds of a Federal Reserve rate increase in October, and the Nasdaq led Friday's gains with NVDA.US up 1.34%. NKE.US fell 3.64% after a revenue miss and weak guidance. For the week, the S&P 500 fell 0.27%, the Dow 1.26%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.45%.
The US 10-year yield closed at 5.28% on Friday, up 9 basis points for the week. AUD/USD ended at 0.6957, down 0.72% over five sessions and near a three-month low; for ASX companies that report in US dollars, such as CSL.AU and RMD.AU, a weaker Australian dollar raises the value of those earnings in Australian dollars. Gold futures finished the week at US$4,172/oz, down 3.45%.
Macro themes that played out
The RBA has now lifted the cash rate four times in 2026, and August CPI at 4.0% sits 1 percentage point above the top of its 2% to 3% target band. September's Westpac-Melbourne Institute survey, taken before this hike, put consumer sentiment at 84.4 and found 64% of consumers expected mortgage rates to rise further over the next 12 months. Consumer discretionary still finished up 2.64% for the week, and the US 10-year yield rose from 5.18% to 5.28% over the same five sessions.
Lynas Rare Earths agreed on 1 October to buy Meteoric Resources for A$968 million in shares, which gives it the Caldeira ionic clay rare earths project in Minas Gerais, Brazil. MEI.AU rose 31.58% for the week; LYC.AU fell 8.6% on the announcement day and 8.93% over five sessions. LIN.AU, another rare earths developer, lost 26.05%.
Week ahead: Mon 5 to Fri 9 October (AEDT)
Sydney clocks move to daylight saving time on Sunday 4 October, so times below are AEDT (UTC+11).
- Mon 5 Oct: Labour Day public holiday in NSW, the ACT and South Australia; the ASX trades normally. The Melbourne Institute Inflation Gauge for September is released.
- Tue 6 Oct: Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment for October, the first reading since the RBA's 29 September hike (September: 84.4). ANZ-Indeed job ads also print. US trade balance for August at 23:30.
- Thu 8 Oct: Minutes of the Fed's 15 to 16 September meeting at 05:00. Mainland China markets reopen after the National Day holiday. US weekly jobless claims at 23:30.
- Fri 9 Oct: Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman speaks on bank regulation at 01:45.
- Sat 10 Oct: University of Michigan consumer sentiment, preliminary October reading, at 01:00 (Friday morning in New York).
US CPI for September is not due until 14 October, and the RBNZ's next cash rate decision is on 28 October.
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