Closing Bell: ASX rolls back yesterday's gains as info tech stages recovery
Info tech rises against the tide, adding 0.85pc
Banks and financial stocks struggle alongside materials sector, leading losses
Info tech fires up despite dour market
The ASX unwound all its progress from yesterday, ending the day down 0.79% with nine sectors falling.
It was again responding to chaos in US markets. US CPI came in hotter than desired, putting a damper on a potential rate cut from the Fed Reserve.
US markets were also shaken by Treasury secretary Scott Bessent announcing the White House had initiated a formal process to remove Fed chair Jerome Powell before his term expires next year.
Adding to the mix, Trump threw around some fresh rhetoric about pharmaceutical and semiconductor tariffs, but as usual we'll have to wait and see what comes of that.
In the meantime, the financial sector led losses, shedding 1.36% alongside a depleted materials sector.
The info tech sector staged a strong recovery though, rising 0.85% after falling 0.35% in the first half hour of trade. It was the only index to climb, adding 0.64%.
Tech stocks were one of the few silver linings in an otherwise difficult day of trading.
Payment management company Tyro (ASX:TYR) shot up 7.2%, analytics and intelligence firm Nuix (ASX:NXL) added 7.5%, SaaS software provider Infomedia (ASX:IFM) climbed 4.4% and big cap Megaport (ASX:MP1) added 6.2%.
Banks sold down as market struggles
One of the bigger victims of today's sell down was the seven major banking stocks. Their index plunged 1.6%.
National Australian Bank (ASX:NAB) has been under fire in recent days, as major shareholders raise concerns about chief executive Andrew Irvine's management style and lifestyle choices.
Not surprising then that NAB led banking losses, down 3.18%.
Retail investor favourite Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) slid 1.2%, ANZ Group (ASX:ANZ) 0.79%, Westpac (ASX:WBC) 1.57%, Macquarie (ASX:MQG) 0.77%, QBE (ASX:QBE) 1% and Suncorp (ASX:SUN) 0.49%.
ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS
Today's best performing small cap stocks:
Code Name Last % Change Volume Market Cap
MIOR Macarthur Minerals 0.003 200% 447404 $99,833
FTC Fintech Chain Ltd 0.004 100% 1592539 $1,301,539
KNG Kingsland Minerals 0.145 53% 290323 $6,893,287
ERL Empire Resources 0.006 50% 1546439 $5,935,653
EEL Enrg Elements Ltd 0.002 33% 1912486 $4,880,668
AKN Auking Mining Ltd 0.006 33% 37340109 $3,096,523
PV1 Provaris Energy Ltd 0.017 31% 4193417 $10,101,617
OEQ Orion Equities 0.195 30% 28466 $2,347,384
AX8 Accelerate Resources 0.009 29% 2097369 $5,720,321
CPM Cooper Metals Ltd 0.048 26% 294686 $2,977,515
PR1 Pure Resources Limited 0.125 25% 440609 $4,600,879
ASN Anson Resources Ltd 0.09 25% 14901420 $99,845,031
CUL Cullen Resources 0.005 25% 250433 $2,773,607
MEG Megado Minerals Ltd 0.04 25% 1909655 $20,661,864
PIL Peppermint Inv Ltd 0.0025 25% 343838 $4,602,180
PPG Pro-Pac Packaging 0.02 25% 352939 $2,907,003
PPY Papyrus Australia 0.01 25% 136062 $4,581,454
RLG Roolife Group Ltd 0.005 25% 2019881 $6,371,125
LKY Locksley Resources 0.115 24% 26061959 $17,050,000
CP8 Canphosphateltd 0.074 23% 187789 $18,405,632
SNS Sensen Networks Ltd 0.037 23% 20027 $23,791,124
IBX Imagion Biosys Ltd 0.017 21% 27940131 $2,818,780
RPG Raptis Group Limited 0.12 20% 140947 $35,068,485
AYT Austin Metals Ltd 0.003 20% 181536 $3,960,478
BNL Blue Star Helium Ltd 0.006 20% 145568 $13,474,426
Making news...
Lumos Diagnostics (ASX:LDX) has cleared a path to enter US markets, inking a six-year exclusive deal for the distribution of FebriDx with PHASE Scientific, valued at up to US$317 million.
There are still some hurdles to clear – the company will need to secure a CLIA waiver classification from the FDA – but LDX has already enrolled 105 of 120 patients in its CLIA study and expects to have the paperwork in hand within the next three months.
Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) has administered the first dose of SOF-SKN in its HERACLES trial, a first-in-human study evaluating SOF-SKN as a novel drug candidate for autoimmune diseases.
Currently at the safety and tolerability stage of clinical testing, NOX will dose four cohorts of four patients each in progressively higher dosages, with the goal of targeting the US$3 billion lupus market.
Catalina Resources (ASX:CTN) is chasing up a stellar rare earth drill hit at the Laverton project that closely mirrors mineralisation found at the nearby Mt Weld mine (ASX:LYC), one of the most valuable rare earth deposits in the world.
On top of following up on the 9m at 7565 parts per million total rare earth oxide result, CTN is also exploring for gold in the Barnicoat Shear Zone at Laverton, host to several existing gold deposits.
Javelin Minerals (ASX:JAV) has lifted the grade and confidence levels of its Eureka gold project resource estimate, increasing the overall resource grade 16% to 1.69 g/t gold for 110,687 ounces.
The update also added more tonnes to the indicated category, lifting it to 1.36Mt at 1.8 g/t gold for 78,678 ounces, a 27% increase.
ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS
Today's worst performing small cap stocks:
Code Name Last % Change Volume Market Cap
AOA Ausmon Resorces 0.001 -50% 1226988 $2,622,427
SFG Seafarms Group Ltd 0.001 -50% 6000 $9,673,198
SKN Skin Elements Ltd 0.002 -33% 55557 $3,225,642
CTN Catalina Resources 0.003 -25% 1743751 $9,704,076
FAU First Au Ltd 0.003 -25% 16503 $8,305,165
GTR Gti Energy Ltd 0.003 -25% 3176612 $14,835,762
BCB Bowen Coal Limited 0.075 -25% 2076944 $10,775,756
APC APC Minerals 0.008 -24% 10585499 $3,075,800
X2M X2M Connect Limited 0.014 -22% 1532537 $7,831,023
AMS Atomos 0.004 -20% 55022 $6,075,092
M2R Miramar 0.004 -20% 13877015 $4,984,116
MRD Mount Ridley Mines 0.002 -20% 3700 $1,946,223
PRM Prominence Energy 0.002 -20% 891688 $1,216,176
RNX Renegade Exploration 0.004 -20% 150000 $6,441,817
SLZ Sultan Resources Ltd 0.004 -20% 639757 $1,157,350
SPQ Superior Resources 0.004 -20% 2402254 $11,854,914
RDG Res Dev Group Ltd 0.009 -18% 68225 $32,459,439
THB Thunderbird Resource 0.009 -18% 2384348 $4,287,156
RMI Resource Mining Corp 0.014 -18% 2369600 $12,485,707
ARV Artemis Resources 0.005 -17% 1637579 $15,214,033
AZL Arizona Lithium Ltd 0.005 -17% 18139597 $31,621,887
CC9 Chariot Corporation 0.059 -16% 525881 $8,354,764
AJL AJ Lucas Group 0.006 -14% 156934 $9,630,107
BLU Blue Energy Limited 0.006 -14% 20000 $12,956,815
BYH Bryah Resources Ltd 0.006 -14% 3574 $6,789,675
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
The Hong Kong Electrical and Mechanical Services Department has produced a glowing report on a trial installation of ClearVue Technologies (ASX:CPV) solar façade products, sketching out a payback period of less than 3 years.
Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG) has locked in the Bernhardt Group to lead engagement with US officials at Antimony Canyon.
Bryah Resources (ASX:BYH) has highlighted the antimony potential of the Golden Pike gold project in New Brunswick, Canada, during a due diligence review.
Prescient Therapeutics (ASX:PTX) initiates first US site for the Phase 2a trial of PTX-100 in patients with relapsed/refractory Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma.
European Lithium (ASX:EUR) has applauded Critical Metals Corp's drilling at the Tanbreez rare earth project in Greenland.
Tryptamine Therapeutics (ASX:TYP) has bolstered its clinical development team with two key appointments as it progresses lead drug candidate IV-infused psilocin TRP-8803.
Pure Hydrogen Corporation (ASX:PH2) has sold its first hydrogen-powered truck to Riverview International Trucks in California.
Axel REE (ASX:AXL) says assays from auger drilling at its Caladão project in Brazil have delivered strong gallium and rare earths results.
TRADING HALTS
At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Lumos Diagnostics and Javelin Minerals are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.
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ABC News
26 minutes ago
- ABC News
Victims of fraud and financial abuse caught in ATO's pursuit of $56b in tax debt
Laura remembers the day she decided to leave an abusive relationship. It was January 2020. She was on holiday with her former partner and recalls him getting physically violent in front of their children. "He hit me that day," Laura (not her real name) recalls. ABC News has had to conceal her identity to protect her safety. "After confronting him, he pushed me into the wall and then grabbed me by my throat … in front of the kids," she says. "He grabbed my phone, broke my phone … said he was going to kill me." If you need help immediately call emergency services on triple-0 Laura says the physical abuse was the breaking point, but she had suffered years of abuse and control. Her ex had a criminal record and was running a business under her name that had accumulated massive tax debts. But because Laura was unable to control the business or the financial accounts, she did not know the full extent of the debts. "Even though everything was in my name, I could not even transfer a dollar to myself," she says. "When we got separated, I remember having no roof over my head. "No bills were paid because he wouldn't pay any. He wouldn't allow me to buy groceries for me and the child. "He'd break the doors to [the house]. He kept saying to me, 'You'll never do it on your own. You'll never survive without me.'" When Laura did make the decision to leave and take over the business, her ordeal with the ATO began. She took control of the business in late 2021 for about a year, not realising the extent of the debts owed, and not realising the debt would balloon and she would eventually become personally liable for half a million dollars in debt. Laura is just one story among thousands of Australians experiencing financial hardship as the ATO chases almost $56 billion it says is owed by small businesses and individuals. If you have more information about this story please contact Nassim Khadem at or nassimkhadem@ The Tax Ombudsman and financial counsellors working with people like Laura want the ATO to use its discretion to take a more compassionate and understanding approach. And they want the federal government to change the law to give the ATO the ability to waive tax debts in these situations of financial abuse. They warn that when victims of financial abuse become liable for tax obligations, it can tip people over the edge, both mentally and financially. When the tax system is used to perpetrate financial abuse, the ATO has limited powers to clear a tax debt entirely or to transfer it to the perpetrator of the abuse. New ATO figures provided exclusively to ABC News show more than 65 per cent, or $36.6 billion, of the $55.9 billion in outstanding total debt is owed by small business, and the ATO says much of that is undisputed debt. But the issue is what happens in cases like Laura's, when the tax obligations were borne out of financial abuse. To recover the money owed, the ATO has ramped up its debt recovery action, and this action is sometimes used against women, or in some cases men, whose debt is tied to their ex-partners. The ATO's own data shows it is hitting people more often with a Director Penalty Notice that makes them personally liable for tax debts. It is also returning to using garnishee notices after a drop-off during the pandemic. These notices give the agency the authority to take money directly from people's bank accounts. It is also reporting alleged business debts to credit agencies, which then make it impossible for people to get access to credit. 38,409 Ann Kayis-Kumar, founding director of UNSW Tax and Business Advisory Clinic, deals with victim-survivors of financial abuse. She says Director Penalty Notices (DPN's) can be an effective way of collecting tax debt, "but what we're concerned about is that … this is unwittingly capturing people, survivors of abuse, and there are not appropriate safeguards in place". "We think that the reason for the DPN numbers being as high as they are is because they are in effect sexually transmitted tax debts," she says. Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that 1 in 6 women and 1 in 13 men have experienced economic abuse by an intimate partner. "This is over 2.4 million Australians experiencing abuse. It's almost inevitable that a component of those … DPNs will be sweeping up this cohort of people," Ms Kayis-Kumar says. "We have clients come to us in tears sharing that their abusive former partner has said, 'I'm going to financially ruin you'. She says there needs to be a national investment in greater support for victims of abuse, "otherwise people will be playing a postcode lottery and falling through the cracks". "It's quite shocking, for example, that there is only one statewide financial abuse specialist [within the ATO]," she says. A question often asked of people who have faced financial abuse is why they did not make the decision to come forward sooner. This question, according to experts who work with survivors of domestic and family violence, fails to understand the premise of coercive control. "We need to see that culture change within the ATO," says Julie Dal Pra, a financial counsellor at EACH. She says the ATO must stop treating victims of financial abuse as tax avoiders. "These women are not trying to avoid tax or [be] scammers — it's simply not their tax obligations," she says. Ms Dal Pra says they are seeing more cases of women being made a director by their ex-partner without consent, and then becoming liable for the company's tax debts. "People's tax file numbers are being used fraudulently, and they are having earnings reported to the ATO that are not theirs," she says. "And I don't think there's a foundational knowledge of what financial abuse is and what it looks like. So when women are telling their stories to the ATO, they're not being listened to or believed." This is the ordeal Laura faced. In 2017, before Laura's business debt had ballooned because of general interest charges, there was one phone call that Laura's ex-partner made her do with the ATO. He wanted Laura to negotiate a payment arrangement with the ATO for the company's then-outstanding debt. "He was there, and he was prompting me on what to say," Laura recalls. This debt was growing by the day, accumulating general interest charges. It wasn't until February 2022 that Laura next contacted the ATO and revealed what had really happened. The ATO sent Laura a letter in September 2022, rejecting her request to have the tax debt waived, and arguing that in 2017, she should have explained what was going on. It says the 2017 phone conversation "shows that you were involved in the business operations. Therefore, you would have known about the company financial difficulties since then". It tells Laura, "a prudent director would have ensured that all reasonable steps to cause the company to either meet its obligation to pay, or have an administrator appointed, or begin to be wound up, be taken promptly". "A reasonable step could have been seeking advice from the ATO and ASIC and inform the relevant authorities that you were coerced into becoming the director of the company at an earlier point in time ie back in 2017," the letter stated. "In light of the above, the Commissioner is not satisfied that you are not liable for the Director Penalty liability under this defence." Laura says she did not come forward earlier because she was frightened and trapped under her ex's control. Laura breaks down several times while talking to the ABC, crying uncontrollably and struggling to speak. "I thought the verbal put-downs — 'You're fat, you're dumb, you're stupid. I'm going to [kill you] dig you up, pour concrete over you and no one will find you' — I thought that was normal. I didn't know any better. "He wouldn't let me see my family, and if I did, it was secret. It got worse when I had our child, he would keep tabs on me. He would call me 50 times a day … I was so scared." She says it was only in hindsight that she understood what was happening was financial abuse. "I wish that they [the ATO] would look at us as victims and see what we went through," she says. "The person that is liable — they should be going after them … I'll never be able to buy a house for my child. "I did everything they asked for and I still have to pay for such a large debt — that never came from my hands." She says while the ATO gave her contact numbers for lawyers following the 2022 conversation, she could not afford to pay lawyers and instead contacted free support services. She says the ATO has at no point informed her she could have stood down as director and relinquished the debt. In April 2023, Laura received a Director Penalty Notice — saying she had 21 days to repay the total debt, which at that stage had hit about half a million dollars — or she would be held personally liable. She says she then contacted a liquidator to start the process of winding up the business. Since then, the liquidator has sold off the business but Laura remains personally liable for about $200,000. Even when financial abuse survivors can afford lawyers, they must spend years fighting through the courts. "It consumed me going to court, consumed me," says Rose (also not her real name to protect her safety). "It affected my health. It affected the way I was a mother to my son." Rose left her husband after years of abuse. "During the marriage, there was alcohol abuse on his part, a lot of alcohol abuse, and with the alcohol came emotional and mental abuse," she recalled. "It was nine years into the marriage that I made the decision that I couldn't do it anymore. It was in 2020, and it was after a very bad drunken weekend from him." Rose says when she decided to leave him, he emptied their joint business bank account and then she had to spend years dealing with a tax debt he created. "For the first couple of months, he spent outrageously and then it was probably 2–3 months into separation that he just emptied them [the business accounts]," she said. "That money was supposed to be for [paying] our BAS [Business Activity Statements], superannuation, things like that, and he just completely drained them. "We're talking about $70,000, and then he was stopping future earnings going into the account." She said her ex-husband felt like he was losing control, and this was his way to control her. "I contacted my solicitor. There was one night, where $10,000 disappeared in one go and he [the solicitor] said OK, we need to take [legal] action." She said because she was a co-director of the business, the ATO came after her. Rose says in 2021, the ATO called her saying the business owed its staff superannuation that needed to be paid immediately. "These phone calls [from the ATO] went on for days and weeks, almost daily." "I said to them, you know, he [her ex] is also director. Are you contacting him? And they said to me that 'the men never pay, and the women do, so we always go after the women'. Rose says she paid staff superannuation out of her limited wages. But as time went on, more interest on the primary debt was charged and it ended up hitting about $200,000. She says during that time, she and her ex were in and out of court regularly and she was forced to get intervention orders — "there was bad behaviour from my ex … And in the end, the judge ordered that the business be sold." When the business was sold, the creditors, including the ATO, were paid. Rose says that when it comes to victims of financial abuse, the ATO must "be more compassionate" and "investigate further into situations like that rather than just chase" victims. "They were threatening me with jail, and I was just a tiny, tiny little person. I felt like I was maybe an easy target for them," she says. The ATO is currently undergoing consultation on a new ATO Vulnerability Framework, which it says seeks to "carefully differentiate those taxpayers who may be experiencing vulnerability" and look at ways the agency can offer them "tailored support". It says this framework "may include victims of financial abuse" but does not confirm that will be the case. Tax Ombudsman Ruth Owen recently undertook a review into financial abuse within the tax system. "Personally, I found it really shocking — the amount of coercive control and economic abuse within the Australian community," Ms Owen says. "It's really the responsibility of parliament to consider whether legislation needs to change in these instances. She says while legislative changes could give people an opportunity to clear the debt, the other problem that can be addressed more immediately is for the ATO to have more specialised staff who can recognise the warning signs of abuse. "The ATO has a responsibility to recognise there are people out there who have tax debts for which they are not responsible," the Tax Ombudsman says. She calls on the ATO to set up specialist teams to recognise these particular types of cases. "It's very, very difficult to identify cases of financial abuse victims, survivors of financial abuse quite often won't report," she says. Ms Kayis Kumar says in the United States, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has legal provisions that recognise victims of domestic violence are deserving of special protection. She says the US has had some form of "innocent spouse relief" in place since 1971, providing relief for spouses who are jointly liable for tax debts. And she says following legislative reform of the US provisions in 1998, the IRS has, in recent years, been recognising that survivors of economic abuse may deserve relief from tax debts. She says while this provision may not be directly translatable given differences between the Australian and the US filing systems, there is much to learn from the US system for the Australian context. While legal changes are being contemplated, Laura wants to see immediate action. She wants the ATO to employ staff who are specialised in domestic and family violence and take a more understanding approach. "It's not easy coming out. It's not easy telling someone that you were abused in many different ways," she says in tears. Laura says the ATO is now investigating her case and reviewing information from the liquidator that she was not involved with running the business when the debt was incurred. "I don't have the means, the funds, to pay that debt," she says. "I'm hoping they acknowledge what has happened and that the debt is removed from my name."
ABC News
26 minutes ago
- ABC News
Tax fossil fuel exports or risk losing revenue to other nations, says Zali Steggall
Climate change has been left on the sidelines of the government's upcoming productivity roundtable, Zali Steggall warns, as she pitches a proposal to ensure Australia collects on fossil fuel exports rather than foreign nations. The federal government is hosting the event in search of new solutions to overcome Australia's falling productivity, which risks limiting incomes and the overall quality of life for Australians. Ms Steggall said climate change was already hurting the economy and weighing on the federal budget, pointing to record-breaking floods in NSW and Queensland earlier this year and the ongoing algal bloom in South Australia, killing marine life in the thousands. "I have been discussing with a number of ministers the need for climate resilience to be at that roundtable, there is no productivity without resilience," Ms Steggall said. "Let's be really clear, as soon as climate risk hits, productivity is down to zero. You can't really talk about a strong future Australian economy without the resilience piece underpinning everything." Ms Steggall said a $10 billion climate resilience fund that could invest in infrastructure to mitigate the impact of climate disasters would help to limit local economies from grinding to a halt when disasters struck. Her pitch follows a visit to parliament by the United Nations' chief climate diplomat, Simon Stiell, who warned climate disasters were already costing Australian home owners $4 billion a year, but that Australia could reap "colossal" rewards by embracing clean energy. One of the key measures Ms Steggall proposes is for Australia to get the jump on collecting revenue from an emissions price on exported fossil fuel prices, instead of that being collected by a foreign nation. She said the revenue from that could help to pay for the proposed resilience fund without burdening taxpayers. Known as 'carbon border adjustment mechanisms', several nations, including the European Union and the United Kingdom, are moving to establish levies at the border on polluting imports, priced based on the emissions intensity of those products. But those levies only collect where emissions have not been priced in earlier in the supply chain. While Australia's 'safeguard mechanism' requires the biggest polluting industries to progressively cut their direct emissions over time, and penalises them for each gram of emissions over a set amount, it does not apply to emissions resulting from products exported for consumption overseas, exposing those goods to possible levies imposed by foreign nations. Ms Steggall said that rather than emissions price revenue being collected overseas, Australia should introduce its own fossil fuel export levy, set at the same effective emissions price as the safeguard mechanism, so that revenue was not lost. "The EU's is due to come into effect in 2026, other jurisdictions in 2027, so it's not like this is something that's not happening around the world … we don't have the luxury of time," Ms Steggall said. In exchange, the Sydney MP proposes Australia should also introduce its own levy at the border to level the playing field for domestic industries, so they are not having to unfairly compete with imported products that do not have to pay an emissions price. Australian National University economist Emma Aisbett, who helped to develop Ms Steggall's pitch, said the mechanisms could help to drive new clean industries. "The whole point is Australia has a huge opportunity to grow industries that we have struggled with traditionally, like steel, because we can make clean and green steel," Dr Aisbett said. "Australia, despite being the world's biggest iron ore exporter, actually imports all of its steel … it's really about enabling an environment for growing those clean industries." A government-commissioned review investigating the feasibility of a carbon border adjustment mechanism, particularly concerning steel and cement, is due to be handed to the government later this year. Dr Aisbett said, unlike market-distorting tariffs, a carbon border adjustment was designed to make it fair for those already paying a carbon price domestically, with those importing products into the country. Federal and state governments have committed billions of dollars collectively to incentivise home owners to take up more energy-efficient products, rooftop solar, and batteries — including federal Labor's election promise to establish a $3 billion subsidy to household batteries. But Ms Steggall said there were opportunities for the government to change rules that were causing roadblocks for renters, landlords, apartment owners, and strata companies who want to adopt renewable and energy-efficient technologies. As an example, she said exemptions for stratas in the government's battery subsidy scheme were limiting opportunities to make apartments more efficient. "We need to look at some of the regulatory roadblocks — it's not just about subsidies, it is sometimes that the regulations don't permit," Ms Steggall said. "It seems counterproductive. There is still a process of picking winners and losers." She said the National Construction Code should also be updated so that new builds were made energy efficient and resilient to climate change. Ms Steggall also suggested tax breaks, such as negative gearing, could be limited where rental properties did not meet minimum energy standards — using an already existing subsidy to drive an outcome desired by the government. Ms Steggall's proposals will be submitted alongside a raft of ideas from industry, unions, community groups, and other politicians to next month's roundtable. She hoped the government, with its massive majority in parliament, would consider the opportunity it has to do more than just tinker around the edges. But Ms Steggall also joined several other voices who have expressed skepticism over whether the government was entering the event with a pre-determined plan already in mind. "I hope this is not a situation where they have got a policy setting they want to go in and they're reverse-engineering a roundtable to suit their purposes," she said. "I certainly hope the treasurer and the prime minister look at this term of government with their big majority to genuinely be change makers."
AU Financial Review
an hour ago
- AU Financial Review
ASX to slip, Fed decision and Powell's comments awaited
Australian shares are poised to rise, tracking gains in New York after data reconfirmed the resilience of the US economy. Investors are waiting for the Federal Reserve's 4am AEST policy decision. Meta and Microsoft are set to report results after Wall Street's closing bell at 6am AEST. US government bond yields were higher after the Treasury Department signalled it will rely more on the shortest-dated securities to fund the gaping federal deficit at least until 2026. The S&P 500, coming off its best streak of gains since 2020, is about to enter what has historically been its toughest stretch of the year. Over the past three decades, the benchmark has performed the worst in August and September, losing 0.7 per cent on average in each month, compared with a 1.1 per cent gain on average across other months, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The US economy expanded an annualised 3 per cent pace in the June quarter, however economists were wary of reading too much into the print. 'We retain our outlook for a slowdown in US GDP growth in 2024, as restrictive trade and immigration policies outweigh the benefits from fiscal policy and deregulation,' Morgan Stanley's Michael Gapen wrote in a note. 'Prior to this report, we were forecasting Q4/Q4 growth of 0.8 per cent in 2025; we now expect 1.0 per cent, reflecting the stronger 2Q out turn but no extrapolation into later quarters. We continue to expect 1.1 per cent growth in 2026.' Market highlights ASX futures are pointing down 7 points or 0.1 per cent to 8708. All US prices near 2.30pm New York time. *Bloomberg pricing Today's agenda Quarterly reports expected on Thursday from Beach Energy, Liontown Resources and Origin Energy. RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser will participate in a fireside chat at the Barrenjoey Economic Forum, Sydney at 9.20am AEST. A wave of data is set for release at 11.30am AEST, including June retail sales, building approvals, private sector as well as import and export price data. NAB said its retail transactions data suggests a strong rise in the month and 'we have pencilled in a 1.0 per cent month-over-month increase'. As for overseas, Japan will release June retail sales and industrial output, China will release manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs for July and the Bank of Japan will hold a policy meeting. Later, the US will release June personal spending and core PCE price data, a quarterly employment cost index and weekly jobless claims. On the BoJ decision, TD Securities said: ' US-Japan trade deal was struck, but we expect the BoJ to stand pat this month, holding the target rate at 0.5 per cent. 'After the poor showing of the ruling coalition in the Upper House elections, PM Ishiba is facing calls to step down and Japan is likely to enter a phase of political uncertainty. That said, Governor Ueda may signal a hike in October is still on the table as inflation is running at a 30-year high and we will get more clarity on both trade and politics then.' Top stories Rio Tinto boss defends lithium push as earnings slump cuts dividend | The country's biggest iron ore exporter will pay its lowest dividend since 2018 after lower prices and weaker sales volumes hurt its half-year bottom line. | India 'is our friend', the US president said on his Truth Social platform, but its tariffs 'are far too high' on US products. Atlassian gang back together as Farquhar hits Canberra to spruik AI | The billionaire co-founders of the software giant reunited at the National Press Club, setting aside long speculation of a rift in their relationship. | A broader push for higher taxes at the productivity roundtable in August could soften hostility towards the proposed super tax, the government believes. | Commonwealth Bank held the rights to sponsor Cricket Australia for four decades – then Westpac CEO Anthony Miller stole it from under their nose.
