13 July 2026 | Weekly Snapshot
Saward Dawson > Wealth Advisory Insights > Weekly Snapshot > 13 July 2026
Did you know?
Merchandise sales for the 2026 Soccer World Cup will reach A$7bn, which is more revenue than what was reported by James Hardies, Harvey Norman and Computershare last year.
Market Movements
A broadly flat week for risk assets as geopolitical noise from the Strait of Hormuz dominated sentiment.
The ASX All Ords slipped 0.4% to 9,004 — essentially unchanged and continuing to grind sideways. The S&P 500 eked out a 0.5% gain to 7,575 while the NASDAQ added 0.6% to 26,282. Europe (STOXX 50) was lower by 2% and India continued its soft run, dropping 0.9%.
Domestically, the sector rotation was notable. Energy led with a 3.4% gain following the Hormuz tanker attacks and US retaliatory strikes on Thursday. Utilities gained 1.6% and Consumer Staples added 1.5%. On the other side, Resources fell 2.8% and Healthcare gave back 2.3% — the latter now down 20.5% for the year, a sobering number.
In individual names, Santos jumped 5.8% on the week — almost certainly reflecting the oil price move whilst Ampol gained 5.2%, again energy-driven. Lithium major PLS fell 9.9% as lithium sentiment remained out of favour. a2 Milk was the worst performer on the domestic side, down 10.3%.
In US names, Meta added 11.5% ,Occidental Petroleum gained 8.4%, whilst some of the recent market leaders reversed lower including Palo Alto (down 8.8%) and Intel (down 10.1%).
Commodities told the Hormuz story directly. Crude oil surged 5.6% to US$76.01 — the largest weekly move since the initial closure in February. Gold dipped 1.2% to US$4,104. Natural gas fell 9.4%, an outlier worth watching given LNG supply concerns. Uranium added 0.5%.
The Australian dollar fell 0.2% to US$0.69. Australian 10-year yields rose 0.9% to 4.83%. US 10-year yields rose 4.0% to 4.56% on the back of the strong payrolls print the prior Thursday.
US consumer 1yr median inflation expectations rose to 3.7% in June 2026, a 3 year high. The June FOMC meeting minutes reinforced the Fed’s view that upside inflation risks remain even as labour market concerns have eased, keeping a hawkish tone into a fragile geopolitical backdrop. Meanwhile, the weekly initial unemployment claims fell to 215k and remain historically low.
Portfolio Movements
WiseTech founder Richard White steps down as executive chair; shares initially higher before reversal
- Problem stock WiseTech (held in the Aus shares portfolio) announced that co-founder Richard White will step down as executive chair, with board director Raelene Murphy appointed independent chair with immediate effect. White remains on the board as an executive director and continues as chief innovation officer.
- The change follows a period of media scrutiny of White’s personal affairs, including reports of a police investigation into allegations he has denied. White said the attention was creating an unnecessary distraction from the business.
- Shares rose strongly on the news before reversing lower.
Alibaba rises on pre-earnings update and rotation into Chinese tech
- Chinese tech giant Alibaba (held in the international equities portfolio) rose sharply, following pre-earnings briefing with analysts pointed to narrowing losses in its instant-commerce business while overall profitability held steady, easing a key concern ahead of its Q1 results next month.
- The move seemed to be part of a broader rotation into Chinese internet names, with Tencent (also held) and JD.com (not held) also higher. UBS also flagged expected margin-widening revenue growth, led by around 45% growth in the cloud unit.
Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs across commercial sales and Xbox
- Microsoft (held in the international equities portfolio) has announced it will cut around 4,800 employees, or roughly 2.1% of its total workforce, across its commercial sales and Xbox businesses as it begins FY27. The company attributed the cuts to changes in the technology industry, noting the roles are not being replaced by AI but that AI is changing how work gets done.
- As spending focus shifts from gaming to AI, the Xbox business will see around 20% of its workforce cut, with several game studios becoming independent. The move follows April’s voluntary retirement program.
The Week Ahead
- Tuesday 14 July: US CPI (June); headline consensus is +3.8% YoY, down from +4.2% in May, driven partly by a roughly 10% drop in retail gasoline prices during June. Prior year (Jun 2025): +2.7%.
Fed Chair Warsh — House testimony (10am ET). Warsh delivers his first congressional testimony since being sworn in on 22 May. This is the most important communication event of Warsh’s tenure to date — markets will be listening for any signal on the conditions required for a rate cut. - Wednesday 15 July: China Q2 GDP; China Q2 GDP is expected to show growth of approximately +4.8% YoY — a modest deceleration from +5.0% in Q1.
- Thursday 16 July: US Retail Sales (June); Retail sales will be the first read on whether that labour market softness is translating into weaker consumer spending. Consensus: +0.3% MoM. Prior month (May 2026): +0.6%. Prior year (Jun 2025): +0.4%
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.
