The Australian sharemarket slumped to its lowest level since 23 June on Tuesday, as a heavy tech-sector sell-off and renewed uncertainty around interest rates drove a broad retreat ahead of Nvidia’s closely watched earnings.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 167.3 points or 1.9% to 8,469.10, with all 11 sectors finishing in the red.
Domestic sentiment weakened further after minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s November meeting showed inflation in the September quarter had risen “larger than expected”, reinforcing the board’s view that interest rates would remain on hold until the data clearly shifted.
Rate-cut expectations continued to fade, with the ASX's RBA Rate Tracker pricing just a 6% chance of an easing at the central bank’s next meeting.
Technology stocks bore the brunt of the selling, with the sector sinking 6% as investors grew increasingly jittery about Nvidia’s upcoming earnings report, seen as a critical test of whether the artificial intelligence boom can extend into 2026.
WiseTech Global lost 4.6%, Codan dipped 3.5%, Xero shed 3.3% and Life360 declined 4.2%.
TechnologyOne plunged 17.2% after the software firm’s 2025 annual recurring revenue fell short of expectations, and the company declined to provide guidance for 2026, further rattling investor confidence.
Materials also weighed on the index, down 3% overall as BHP shed 3.7%, Fortescue Metals dipped 2% and Rio Tinto slid 2.7%.
The big four banks also dipped, with Commonwealth Bank losing 1.7%, National Australia Bank dropping 0.9%, ANZ down 0.9%, and Westpac falling 3%.
In company news, James Hardie jumped 9.9% after the construction materials group posted a first-quarter result in line with expectations and upgraded its adjusted EBITDA guidance to $1.2 billion–$1.25 billion, ahead of market forecasts.
Plenti Group rose 6.8% after the financial services provider reported a sharp lift in first-half profit, supported by record loan originations across all divisions.
BlueScope Steel shed 1.7% after warning that the underlying EBIT for the first half of the financial year would land at the bottom of its A$550 million to $620 million guidance range.
Catapult Sports dropped 11.7% after the sports technology company reported 19% growth in constant-currency annualised contract value to US$115.8 million (A$175 million) in the first half of the 2026 financial year.
On the bond markets, the 10-year and 2-year yields were down 0.8% and 1.1% to 4.445% and 3.675%, respectively.
