10 August 2026 | Weekly Snapshot
Saward Dawson > Wealth Advisory Insights > Weekly Snapshot > 10 August 2026
Did you know?
India is almost half the cost for datacentre construction compared to the USA. And India is not alone on this metric. This follows that construction activity is poised to pick up in areas outside of the USA and will become a source of stronger ex-USA GDP.
Market Movements
The ASX All Ordinaries rose 3.4% for the week and is now up 4.7% for the year. Resources (+6.1%) and Technology (+7.1%) led the gains. Utilities (-0.8%) and Energy (-2.0%) were the laggards, with the latter weighed down by the sharp fall in the oil price. Among individual stocks, Wisetech Global surged 13.0% and Seek gained 11.6%, while Viva Energy was a laggard, down 5%% for the week.
Overseas, Alibaba unveiled Qwen3.8-Max on Monday, its largest and most capable AI model to date, with 2.4 trillion parameters, sending its Hong Kong-listed shares up 7%. The launch comes as domestic rival DeepSeek released its V4-Flash model on Friday, priced at USD0.14 per million input tokens, positioning it as by far the cheapest model to run on benchmark tests among major global models.
The RBA next decision is due Tuesday 11 August and consensus is for another hold. Australian bond yields moved higher even so, with the 2-year yield up to 4.55% (+0.7% for the week) and the 10-year up to 4.96% (+0.7% for the week). In the US, the cash rate remains at 3.60%, with the 10-year Treasury yield at 4.65%.
US markets had a strong week, with the S&P 500 up 3.6% (now up 13.3% for the year) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite up 5.2% (+14.8% CYTD). Europe’s STOXX 50 rose 2.6%, Germany’s DAX added 2.7%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 was roughly flat (+0.2%). In Asia, China’s Shenzhen A-Share index jumped 6.1%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 1.7%, and India’s SENSEX rose 0.5%. The rally across almost every major market this week reflects the same de-escalation in Middle East tensions that drove the ASX higher.
Globally, Information Technology (+7.2%) and Materials (+6.7%) led sector gains, while Energy (-3.4%) was the weakest global sector, again reflecting the pullback in oil prices.
On commodities, gold rose 7.2% for the week to US$4,340.70/oz (+0.4% CYTD), copper added 2.9% to US$14,240/tonne, while WTI crude oil fell 7.3% to US$83.55/barrel (still up 37.3% for the year) and iron ore slipped 3.6% to US$94.45/tonne. Trump postponed his latest attack threats and claimed new talks are underway although Iran has said no such talks are taking place.The Australian dollar rose 0.6% against the US dollar to US$0.71 (+5.9% CYTD).
US earnings season has exceeded already high expectations by 7%, but this is mostly attributed to the AI sector. Otherwise, the market would be reporting a much different story.
The ISM Manufacturing PMI jumped to 55.6 in July from 53.3 in June, well ahead of the 54.0 expected, marking the strongest expansion in US factory activity in over 4 years.
Our ASX full year reporting season is set to ramp up with consensus estimates for around 12% earnings growth for the index, which would make it the strongest in four years, but is heavily concentrated in the Materials / resources sector, masking a softer earnings backdrop across the broader market. The setup for earnings beats has improved coming into reporting season, with downgrades outnumbering upgrades 1.6 to 1 since April and CY26 EPS growth expectations falling to 12% from 17%, most acute in Information Technology and Health Care. The market’s forward P/E has also compressed to 17.5 times from 18.3 times in February, and plenty of good value stocks out there.
Portfolio Insights
Amazon Q2 result beats – Shares surge
- Amazon (held) reported Q2 revenue of $200.6 billion on Friday night, up 20% year on year and topping $200 billion for the first time in a single quarter, against consensus of $196.5 billion. Adjusted EPS of $1.97 beat the $1.82 expected with shares up 15% on the day.
- AWS revenue rose 36.7% to $42.2 billion, its fastest growth in 18 quarters and well ahead of the 31% growth expected, with operating income in the segment up to $16.6 billion from $10.2 billion a year earlier.
- Reported net income of $62.6 billion was flattered by a $53.4 billion non-operating gain from revaluing Amazon’s investment in Anthropic; operating income, up 43% to $27.5 billion, better reflects underlying performance. Amazon also lifted full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to around $220 billion from $200 billion.
James hardies surprises to upside with turnaround underway
- Australian builder JHX Q1 results beat both sales and profits estimates in a challenging market. Increases in market share more than offset the weak construction market in the US (73% of revenue).
- Revenue of $1.47B beat $1.32 consensus, an 11% beat, while EPS at $0.36 topped $0.30 estimates. Adjusted net income +54% from a year earlier helps to explain the 60% share price recovery since May lows.
- The Australin business generated a 14% increase in sales to $216m in the June quarter compared with a year earlier. This combined with an improving US market resulted in JHX raising their full year FY27 guidance and the shares back to 1-year highs.
Strong Uber report largely shrugged off by market
- Uber reported Q2 revenue up 12% and EPS at $0.81 (up 28%). The share price was lower on the result then later rallied to finish the week approx. 7% higher.
- Gross booking increased 24% to $58B beating top end of guidance, with trips +18%. Monthly active users grew 16% helping the trailing 12-month free cash flow top $10B for the first time.
- The buyback was cut by 83% as $4B went to a 37% Delivery Hero stake which will help future growth figures. Guidance disappointed which outweighed the overall strong operating momentum on the night
The Week Ahead
- Tuesday 11 August: Australia – RBA cash rate decision, consensus is a hold at 4.10% (prior 4.10%).
United States – NFIB Small Business Optimism Index (Jul) consensus 96.8 (prior 97.8);
Existing Home Sales (Jul) consensus 4.06m (prior 4.07m). - Wednesday 12 August: United States – Consumer Price Index (Jul) MoM consensus 0.0% (prior 0.1%) & YoY consensus 3.4% (prior 3.4%); Core CPI (Jul) MoM consensus 0.2% (prior 0.2%) & YoY consensus 2.5% (prior 2.5%).
- Thursday 13 August: United States – Initial Jobless Claims (week ending Aug 8) consensus 204.0k (prior 198k); Producer Price Index (Jul) MoM consensus -0.1% (prior 0.1%); Core PPI (Jul) MoM consensus 0.1% (prior 0.2%).
- Friday 14 August: United States – Retail Sales (Jul) MoM consensus 0.5% (prior 0.1%); University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment (Aug, preliminary) consensus 54.6 (prior 54.0).
Saward Dawson Wealth Advisors Pty Ltd, a Corporate Authorised Representative of Akambo Pty Ltd t/a Accountants Private Advice
The information presented in this publication is general information only, and is not intended to be financial product advice. It has not been prepared taking into account your investment objectives, financial situation or needs, and should not be used as the basis for making an investment decision. Before making any investment decision you need to consider (with your financial adviser) your particular investment needs, objectives and financial circumstances.
Some numerical figures in this publication have been subject to rounding adjustments. Akambo Pty Ltd (including any of its directors, officers or employees) will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of any reliance on this information. The market commentary reflect Akambo Pty Ltd’s views and beliefs at the time of preparation, which are subject to change without notice.
