The ASX 200 closed down 0.23% today at 8,633.20, recovering from session lows of 8,555.30 (-1.132%), as strength in materials and energy countered a 1.45% slide in financials driven by weakening mortgage demand.
Australian share markets demonstrated resilience in afternoon trade, with the benchmark ASX 200 and All Ordinaries both finishing 0.23% lower despite threatening a much steeper decline earlier in the session.
ASX Today: Leaders and Laggards
The intraday reversal was most keenly felt in the Materials sector, which clawed back from a 2.7% early loss to close 0.29% higher, while Energy surged 1.46% on elevated crude prices and renewed Middle East supply concerns.
Financials bore the brunt of selling pressure, shedding 1.45% as Westpac revealed mortgage applications had fallen 10% month-on-month, raising fresh questions about housing market momentum and bank loan growth trajectories.
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Among individual movers, Lendlease Group jumped 4.58% to close at $2.74, extending its recovery from multi-year lows as markets reassessed the property developer’s restructuring progress and asset divestment strategy. Tabcorp Holdings rallied 4.29% to $0.85, CSL shares continued to bounce off lows, up 4.16% to $107.23, attracting defensive growth capital as markets rotated away from credit-exposed sectors.
On the downside, Alcoa shares fell 8.34% to $93.90, while technology names Xero and NEXTDC pulled back 3.58% and 4.23% respectively, as tech names came down. Nickel Industries dropped 4.17% to $0.92 amid persistent oversupply concerns in global nickel markets.
The session’s defining move centred on Westpac’s disclosure of a 10% monthly decline in mortgage applications, a data point that carries significant implications for the broader banking sector. The sharp drop suggests housing turnover and future loan growth are weakening more rapidly than previously anticipated, compounding existing pressures on net interest margins as deposit competition intensifies. With financials representing a substantial weighting in the ASX 200, the sector’s 1.45% decline acted as a meaningful drag on index performance despite strength elsewhere.
Commodity trading was mixed, with gold trading at $4,100 per ounce, silver prices at $64.50, and West Texas Intermediate crude hovering around $90 per barrel. Energy stocks capitalised on the backdrop of Middle East tensions and production disruptions, while the Materials sector’s recovery suggested dip-buyers were willing to overlook early-session jitters.
Today’s session laid bare the tension between resource resilience and domestic economic caution, with the ASX 200’s modest decline masking significant cross-currents beneath the surface. The XMJ bounced off the low of 23,000, potentially setting the level out as a support line to watch in the sessions ahead. Market cap leading BHP shares charted a similar path, bouncing off A$59 to close 1% higher after a close to 3% intraday swing.
