ASX 200 ends week +1.03% at 8,806.7 as banks and defensives lead while the Nasdaq falls 4.48%
ASX 200 week close: 8,806.7 (+1.03%) S&P 500 Friday close: 7,659.44 (-1.09%) Sentiment: mixed
The week on the ASX
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,806.7 on 16 October 2026, up 90.1 points or 1.03% from 8,716.6 on 9 October, as banks and defensive sectors rose and miners and small caps fell. The index gained 0.76% on Monday, finished flat on Tuesday (+0.01%), fell 0.64% on Wednesday and 0.09% on Thursday, then rose 1.00% on Friday to its highest close since 10 September. The Nasdaq Composite fell 4.48% over the same five US sessions, and the ASX 200 still finished 4.49% below its 60-session high of 9,220.6 (Small Caps).
On Thursday, South Korea's Kospi fell 8.06% on doubts over AI spending and a Chinese memory chip advance, BHP.AU dropped 4.70% and RIO.AU 4.85%, and the materials sector lost 3.95% in one session. ABS data the same morning showed employment down 39,300 in September and the unemployment rate up 0.1 point to 4.7%; the Australian 3-year yield fell 11 bps intraday and the financials index rose 2.19%. The Small Ordinaries lost 2.82% for the week to 3,189.2, and the AU VIX rose 1.83% to 11.13.
Sector scorecard (5-day)
The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities index rose 4.47% in the week to 16 October 2026, the best of the 11 sectors, while materials fell 2.31%.
- Best: Utilities (+4.47%); ORG.AU gained 6.07% after it delayed the Eraring power station closure to 2029.
- Worst: Materials (-2.31%), with RIO.AU -4.58%, BHP.AU -1.49% and lithium names down 10% to 15%: PLS.AU -14.86% and IGO.AU -10.53%.
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 6.78 pts
- 3.88% was the health care gain, led by CSL.AU +4.55% to $192.20 and RMD.AU +5.43%; staples added 3.35% with TWE.AU +7.65%.
- Financials rose 3.20%: NAB.AU +4.35%, WBC.AU +4.24%, ANZ.AU +4.60% and CBA.AU +3.41% to $154.38.
- A-REITs fell 1.73%, the All Ords Gold index 1.38% and information technology 1.28%, despite IT's 5.62% rebound on Friday.
Top movers, week ending 16 October
| Ticker | Week | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| WTC.AU | +11.83% | ASIC closed its governance and share-trading matters with no-action letters |
| BTR.AU | +9.09% | Goldfields project update on 13 October; +8.27% on Friday |
| BOQ.AU | +7.85% | Statutory net profit up 88% to $250 million |
| FRS.AU | +7.81% | Zenith Minerals takeover bid; new shares quoted on Friday |
| TWE.AU | +7.65% | AGM address on 15 October cited early momentum in its turnaround |
| PYC.AU | -22.04% | Fell 10.46% Tuesday and 7.48% Wednesday; no price-sensitive filing |
| SKS.AU | -21.03% | ASX price query reply: no undisclosed information; -20.53% on Tuesday |
| ELS.AU | -18.40% | Substantial holder exit filed 12 October; +9.06% on Friday |
| MGH.AU | -17.93% | Firmus IPO fallout; Friday buyback of up to 20% lifted it 14.80% |
| INA.AU | -16.81% | Warburg Pincus called $5.25 best and final, with a Peet condition |
PDN.AU fell 12.75% after September-quarter output of 1.0 million lb at Langer Heinrich came in 11% below the Jefferies forecast, and Deep Yellow lost 16.33%. Data centre names fell for a second week: MP1.AU -12.14% and NXT.AU -11.48%. CWY.AU lost 10.51% before the EQT update due on Monday.
Friday US session
- S&P 500: 7,659.44 (-1.09%)
- Nasdaq: 26,140.03 (-2.15%)
- Dow: 52,002.40 (-0.34%)
- VIX: 19.99 (+21.45%)
The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.15% on 16 October 2026 and 4.48% for the week, its worst week since late June, as software and chip stocks sold off on concern over AI debt (Yahoo Finance). The iShares Semiconductor ETF was on course for a ninth straight fall, and Palantir lost about 7%. The S&P 500 finished the week 1.95% lower, while the Dow gained 0.67%. The VIX touched 22.31 intraday, its highest since 11 June.
December Brent rose 3.56% on Friday to US$109.69 and 5.04% for the week after it touched US$110 as Iran stepped up attacks in the Strait of Hormuz (Yahoo Finance). December gold closed at US$4,186.70/oz, down 0.80% for the week. AUD/USD ended at 0.6949, down 0.56% from 0.6988, which lifts the Australian-dollar value of US-dollar revenue at CSL.AU and RMD.AU.
Macro themes that played out
US September CPI on Wednesday 14 October came in at 3.7% a year and pushed Bloomberg's bond-futures odds of an October Fed hike to 33%. Fed chair Kevin Warsh told an IMF meeting in Bangkok on Thursday that the path for AI would be "very bumpy" and declined to preview the 27 to 28 October meeting; the odds fell to about 15% and the US 10-year yield closed near 5.09%, about 29 bps below its 7 October intraday high (Yahoo Finance).
In Australia, the RBA minutes on 13 October listed AI valuations as a global financial stability risk, and ABC put the market-implied chance of a November rate rise at about 33%. The Australian 10-year yield fell 9 bps to 5.22% on Thursday after the jobs data, and HIA reported on Friday that new home sales fell 17.5% in the September quarter. Lithium names fell after an EU proposal on 13 October to cap Chinese hybrid vehicle imports cut Chinese lithium futures.
Week ahead, 19 to 23 October (AEDT)
- Mon 19 Oct, pre-open: CWY.AU update on EQT's $3.13 per share proposal as the exclusivity period ends; Warburg Pincus deadline for the INA.AU board.
- Mon 19 Oct 10:05: RBA Assistant Governor Christopher Kent at the Commonwealth Bank Global Markets Conference, Sydney.
- Mon 19 Oct 13:00: China third-quarter GDP, scheduled by a third-party calendar for 10:00 Beijing time.
- Tue 20 Oct 08:30 (approx): BHP.AU operational review for the September quarter.
- Wed 21 Oct 09:30: RBA Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser at Citi's Australia and New Zealand Investment Conference, Sydney.
- Thu 22 Oct: CWY.AU annual general meeting.
- Fri 23 Oct 11:30: ABS Australian System of National Accounts and the Supply Use Tables.
Australian September-quarter CPI follows on Wed 28 Oct at 11:30, one day after the FOMC meeting opens.
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