Overview
- The S&P/ASX 200 has traded lower this week and looked set for its worst week since April as losses in major miners and banks dragged the benchmark down.
- Telstra’s shares fell after a full‑year profit of $2.4 billion and an earnings update described as disappointing, with the company still feeling reputational damage from a major July network outage.
- Major miners registered notable falls as investors took profits and prices for gold, copper and iron ore eased, with Rio Tinto and BHP among the larger declines.
- Markets in the United States diverged from Australia as the S&P 500 hit an intraday record driven by large tech and semiconductor gains, showing global risk appetite is not the main driver of the ASX weakness.
- Heads up for what comes next: BHP’s full‑year results are due shortly and further weak earnings or softer commodity data could deepen the sell‑off, while bank lending metrics and household spending trends will shape domestic market direction.