Australian market downturn
The Australian share market saw a broad sell‑off on Tuesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dropping 24.6 points to 8,956.8, or about 0.3 per cent, and the All Ordinaries (ASX: XAO) sliding by a similar margin. All sectors except one closed lower, led by declines in the consumer discretionary and communication services segments. Retailers including Breville (ASX: BRG) fell sharply (‑4.5 per cent), while Wesfarmers Limited (ASX: WES) and Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) both slipped around 1.3 per cent. The communications sector saw REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) decline 2.1 per cent, Seek Limited (ASX: SEK) drop 1.4 per cent, and Car Group Limited (ASX: CAR) fall 2.9 per cent. In financials, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) edged down 0.4 per cent, whereas ASX Limited (ASX: ASX) declined 1.4 per cent after receiving regulatory approval for direct competition from Cboe Australia. In contrast, gold and related miners held firm: Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM / ASX exposure via gold miners) rose modestly as gold prices surged globally. Among individual movers, Web Travel (ASX: WEB) jumped 3 per cent on positive earnings guidance, DroneShield Limited (ASX: DRO) fell 3.7 per cent after outlining a $13 million R&D spend, and St Barbara Limited (ASX: SBM) plunged 11 per cent following a fresh $58 million capital raising. Meanwhile, sporting‑club stock Brisbane Broncos (ASX: BNB) collapsed 16.4 per cent after recent sharp gains were unwound by profit‑taking.
US market pullback amid uncertainty
In the US, equities reversed earlier gains as investors grappled with risks from a continuing federal government shutdown and uneven corporate results. The S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPX) fell about 0.4 per cent, the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: IXIC) declined roughly 0.7 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) slid as well, dragged lower by weakness in sectors such as cloud computing. Technology and AI names showed mixed performance: Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) was under pressure after weak cloud margin guidance, Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) dropped 4.4 per cent after unveiling a lower‑cost Model Y, and Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) tumbled 7.6 per cent following a supplier fire. Some bright spots included Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD), which gained on news of an AI deal, and IBM (NYSE: IBM) benefiting from AI partnerships. Safe havens like gold rallied strongly, with futures crossing the $4,000 mark, reflecting heightened demand amid economic and policy uncertainty.
| Australian Indices | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| ASX 200 | -0.3 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 5.7 | 13.4 |
| Financials | 0.1 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 4.0 | 23.0 |
| Resources | 0.2 | 1.5 | 5.1 | 19.1 | 12.8 |
| Information Technology | -1.0 | 0.1 | -0.2 | 4.4 | 22.1 |
| Global Indices | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| US 500 | -0.4 | 1.0 | 3.1 | 6.8 | 20.4 |
| Europe | -0.3 | 1.8 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 21.9 |
| Japan | -0.1 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 12.6 | 21.3 |
| China top 50 | 0.4 | -0.1 | 5.1 | 12.0 | 32.3 |
| India top 50 | 0.5 | 1.8 | -0.3 | -6.1 | -3.7 |
| Fixed Interest | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| Australian Treasury Bond | -0.1 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 4.0 |
| Australian Corporate Bond | -0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 4.9 |
| US Treasury | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 2.1 | 2.8 |
| Cash | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 4.2 |
| Commodities & Crypto | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| Gold | 0.7 | 3.4 | 8.8 | 17.2 | 51.5 |
| Silver | -0.1 | 5.3 | 18.1 | 31.7 | 57.1 |
| Crude Oil | -1.1 | 0.4 | -5.1 | -4.3 | |
| Bitcoin | 0.8 | 9.8 | 11.6 | 13.2 | 100.9 |