ASX 200 falls 0.33% to 8,816.9 as BHP's copper miss drags miners and defensives trim the loss
ASX 200 close: 8,816.9 (-0.33%) Breadth: 70 advancers / 135 decliners Sentiment: bearish
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,816.9 on 20 October 2026, down 28.8 points or 0.33%, as materials fell 1.16% after BHP.AU reported a 19% drop in September-quarter copper output. BHP.AU lost 1.59% to $59.50 and NAB.AU fell 1.75% to $39.20 after announcing up to 2,500 job cuts. Health care (+0.87%) and consumer staples (+1.14%) pulled the index back from an intraday low of 8,748.5, a fall of 1.10%.
What moved the index
Three sectors cost the ASX 200 about 46 bps on 20 October 2026 and four defensive groups returned about 23 bps of it.
- Materials: -1.16%, worth about 26 bps. BHP.AU (-1.59%) alone cost about 16 bps after copper output fell to 400.7 kt; S32.AU fell 2.44% and the All Ords Gold index 1.52% with December gold -0.28% to US$4,148.50/oz.
- Financials: -0.48%, worth about 15 bps. NAB.AU -1.75% on its restructuring; CBA.AU recovered from an early 1.4% fall to close +0.14% at $155.60.
- Energy: -1.31%, worth about 5 bps, a day after a 2.21% gain to a six-month high. ALD.AU fell 6.22%, YAL.AU 3.97% and WDS.AU 0.62%.
- Defensives: health care +0.87%, staples +1.14%, consumer discretionary +0.76% and A-REITs +0.70%, together adding back about 23 bps.
Together, these drivers account for about 23 bps of the 33 bps fall; the residual reflects breadth, with decliners ahead of advancers 135 to 70 across the 222-name sweep.
Session highlights
- 8,748.5 was the session low before a 68-point recovery into the close, leaving the close 0.8% above the low.
- CSL.AU rose 1.16% to $196.30, 113% above its 3 June low of $92.27; COH.AU gained 5.17% to $139.40 with no announcement.
- COL.AU rose 1.85% to $24.25 and WOW.AU 1.09% to $41.61, a 52-week high, lifting the staples index to its highest level since April 2023 (Market Index).
- 4.23% was the KOSPI's fall to 5,523.93, against -1.47% for the Nikkei and -1.32% for the Hang Seng; Elice, an AI cloud provider, fell as much as 32% on its Kosdaq debut (Bloomberg).
- 5.26% was Australia's 10-year yield after a 4 bp rise (Bloomberg); the US 10-year held at 5.14% as traders added to bets on Fed hikes before next week's FOMC.
- RRL.AU fell 1.86% after rain held September-quarter output to 83.0 koz at an AISC of $3,617/oz; BGL.AU slid 1.05% as production fell 15% to 35,585 oz.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Consumer Staples (+1.14%)
- Worst: Energy (-1.31%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 2.45 pts
- Materials had the widest internal spread, 15.27 pts, from MIN.AU +2.07% to BNZ.AU -13.20%.
- Health Care +0.87%, Utilities +0.49%, Information Technology +0.36%, Financials -0.48%, All Ords Gold -1.52%.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| INA.AU | +9.67% | Warburg Pincus reports progress on its $5.25 proposal; deadline extended to Friday |
| ASB.AU | +6.91% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| PWH.AU | +6.11% | AGM lifts aerospace and defence revenue growth outlook to about 50% from 30% |
| COH.AU | +5.17% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| ORA.AU | +4.68% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| BNZ.AU | -13.20% | Gives back part of Monday's 19.46% jump on Icon gold intercepts |
| TBN.AU | -8.89% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| SRL.AU | -7.22% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| PPC.AU | -7.10% | INA.AU board intends to drop its Peet bid under Warburg terms |
| ALD.AU | -6.22% | Refiners and coal miners fell from Monday's six-month energy high |
Notable announcements
- BHP.AU: September-quarter copper production fell 19% to 400.7 kt, with Escondida down 23% to 252.6 kt; FY27 copper guidance of 1,650 to 1,800 kt was unchanged, and Pilbara iron ore rose 4% to 64.3 Mt.
- NAB.AU: up to 2,500 roles to go, about 6% of staff, with a $300m pre-tax restructuring charge in FY27 and about 1,500 cuts before the end of 2026.
- HUB.AU rose 3.89% to $67.08 after September-quarter platform net inflows of $4.0bn, down 23%, and total funds under administration up 15% to $168.6bn.
- CTD.AU jumped 23.39% to $3.06 after IATA released its $65m security guarantee, which the company says lifts working capital by about $30m.
- GTK.AU rose 5.42% to $3.50 after Momentum Energy signed to its g2 billing platform for more than 200,000 meter points.
At the AU close (16:15 AEDT)
| Asset | Level | Change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 futures | n/a | +0.07% | Cash index rose 0.41% on Monday on a chip rebound |
| Nasdaq futures | n/a | -0.25% | Cash index rose 1.11% Monday; Meta and Tesla report this week |
| Nikkei 225 | 63,962.22 | -1.47% | Closed |
| KOSPI | 5,523.93 | -4.23% | SK Hynix headed for its lowest close since April (Bloomberg) |
| Brent (Dec) | US$109.97 | +0.38% | Iran crude exports at zero under the US naval blockade |
| Gold (Dec) | US$4,148.50/oz | -0.28% | All Ords Gold index fell 1.52% |
| AUD/USD | 0.6995 | +0.19% | US Dollar Index -0.19% to 101.78 |
Next 24h catalysts (AEDT)
- Tue 23:30: US September building permits and housing starts
- Wed 00:30: Wall Street cash open after Monday's 1.11% Nasdaq rebound
- Wed 01:00: US state employment and unemployment for September
- Fri 23 October: Warburg Pincus deadline on its INA.AU proposal
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