ASX Extends Losing Streak to Four Weeks After $40B Wipeout
The Australian sharemarket sank for a fourth straight week to a six-month low, with nearly $40 billion wiped out on Friday amid renewed AI jitters and a stronger-than-expected US jobs report that clouded the outlook for rate cuts.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 136.20 points, or 1.6%, to 8416.50, taking its weekly loss to 2.5%. The index has now dropped 5.2% in November, putting the month on track for its worst performance since September 2022.
Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda said the sell-off was driven by uncertainty over US monetary policy after the economy added 119,000 jobs versus forecasts for 50,000.
“While the chances of a cut are marginally higher, the markets are still implying a line-ball decision in December. There’s also the question of the trajectory for rates going into 2026 and whether the cutting cycle is going to be much shallower than previously thought,” he said.
Materials led the decline. BHP slid 3.2% to $40.37 after Bloomberg reported that China’s state-run iron ore buyer had instructed major mills and traders to halt purchases of lower-grade ore.
A fall in gold prices also hit miners. Newmont dropped 6.1% to $126.43, while Northern Star lost 4% to $25.50. Woodside retreated 2.7% to $25.41 as Brent Crude slipped 1.4% to $US62.47 a barrel after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to work on a new peace framework.
After heavy selling earlier this week, Commonwealth Bank closed flat at $153.06, though ANZ and Westpac each lost around 1.5%. National Australia Bank fell 0.8% to $40.56.
Defensive buying emerged, with Coles up 0.5% to $22.43, helping consumer staples outperform. Woolworths finished flat at $28.08.
Tech stocks held up better than peers across Asia. WiseTech Global gained 2.4% to $65.76 after reaffirming its 2025-26 earnings guidance of $550m to $585m. TechnologyOne and Codan each shed more than 3%.
In company news, jewellery chain Lovisa dived 13.8% to $30.02 as same store sales growth rate of 3.5% fell short of the 5.3% forecast.
Accent Group tumbled 15.4% to $1.01 as the retail group downgraded its earnings expectations from soft trading and heavy discounting, dragging on sales and margins in the first months of the 2026 fiscal year.
Webjet rose 1.7% to 90.5¢ as BGH Capital upped its takeover bid to 91¢ per share in cash for the shares it does not own. The offer came after Helloworld made a bid of its own earlier in the week for 90¢.
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