6 July 2026 | Weekly Snapshot
Saward Dawson > Wealth Advisory Insights > Weekly Snapshot > 6 July 2026
Did you know?
The clearance rates for domestic property auctions are at multi year lows. Historically, low clearance rates have been strongly correlated with lower property prices, which shows that recent budget policy actions are swiftly achieving the designed outcomes.
Market Movements
The ASX All Ords added 0.9% to close at 9,048, extending its year-to-date gain to a modest 0.3% — underwhelming relative to global peers but pointing in the right direction.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 7,483, now up 9.3% for the year, while the NASDAQ added 0.1%. Europe held firm with the STOXX 50 up 3.1% and Germany’s DAX gaining 5.3% for its best week in some time. The FTSE added 1.8% and India rallied 1.8% but is down 8.8% year-to-date.
Domestically, the sector picture was mixed but with some notable divergences. Healthcare was the week’s standout, up 3.5%, though it remains deeply in the red for the year at -19.8%. Resources bounced 1.1%, helped by firmer base metals. On the other side, Property fell another 2.7% — now down 7.2% year-to-date. Utilities also gave back 3.3%, and Telecommunications slipped 2.0%.
In individual names, Netwealth had a strong week, up 10.4%, though it remains -11.8% for the year. Northern Star added 10.1% as gold held its ground. Domestic datacentre developer NextDC was down 8.0%, while JB Hi-Fi slipped 7.4% as consumer discretionary sentiment stays cautious. On the US side, Micron fell 14.8% — now up +241.8% year-to-date. Amazingly, Micron is now a top10 stock in the USA’s S&P500 having rallied almost 10-fold in 12 months. Palantir added 11.8% and Apple gained 9.5%, while Intel fell 8.6%. Overall, a mixed picture across US tech names.
Commodities told an interesting story. Gold ticked up 2.3% to US$4,112 but remains -4.9% year-to-date, still recovering from its dramatic fall from the $5,600 peak earlier in the year. Oil was flat to slightly negative at US$72.12. Iron ore fell 2%. Uranium dipped 0.5% but holds a 4.3% year-to-date gain. The Australian dollar strengthened 0.7% to US$0.69, now +4.0% for the year.
On rates, the RBA held firm at 4.10% Australian 10-year bonds sold off, with the yield rising 1.0% to 4.80% — worth watching given the property market sensitivity to long-end rates. In the US, the Fed held at 3.60% and the 10-year yield rose 2.6% to 4.48%.
In the USA, June nonfarm payrolls rose by 57,000, well below the 115,000 expected. The But the unemployment rate fell to 4.2% from 4.3% on a significant 0.3-point drop in the participation rate to 61.5%. Against this, US Job openings increased more than expected in May to 7.594 million openings, slightly above the April print and the highest since May 2024.
Property data firm Cotality reported that Sydney and Melbourne property values fell 1.2% and 1.0% respectively for the month of June as the residential property market adjusts down due to the federal budget negative gearing changes announced in May.
Portfolio Movements
Zuckerberg says Meta AI agent development slower than expected
- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that AI agent development over at least the past four months had not accelerated in the way the company expected, and that its bets on the new structure had not yet come to fruition.
- Zuckerberg also noted the company’s reorganisation, which included cutting around 10% of the global workforce and reassigning roughly 7,000 staff to AI teams in May could have been handled better but that Meta should begin to see more significant benefits from its AI investments within the next three to six months.
- The comments come with Meta projected to spend up to $145 billion on AI infrastructure this year.
South32 to sell aluminium value chain to Alcoa
- South32 has entered a definitive agreement to sell its bauxite, alumina and aluminium operations to Alcoa for upfront consideration of approximately US$4.1bn in cash and stock, implying an enterprise value of around US$4.7bn including net debt, with up to a further US$750m payable via a contingent value rights tied to alumina and aluminium prices.
- The divested portfolio comprises interests in Worsley Alumina (86%), Hillside Aluminium in South Africa (100%) and three Brazilian assets, with the care-and-maintenance Mozal smelter in Mozambique excluded but still under consideration. It’s a big deal for S32 with Aluminium assets contributing around 40% of EBITDA with the sale repositioning S32 as a high-margin copper, zinc, silver, lead and manganese producer. Customary conditions (ACCC, FIRB, shareholder vote, etc) apply.
Apple in talks to buy memory chips from Chinese suppliers — seeking White House support
- Bloomberg reports Apple is in discussions with ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) to purchase memory chips for devices sold in China with Apple shares rising 5.47% but US listed memory names lower.
- The company is lobbying the White House for political support, with both Chinese memory providers currently blacklisted by the Pentagon.
- The report follows an FT article last weekend indicating Apple was seeking Trump administration approval to buy chips from CXMT, and comes after the price increases announced last week that the company attributed to memory supply headwinds.
The Week Ahead
- Tuesday 7 July NAB Business Confidence: Consensus: -20. Prior month (April 2026): -24. Prior year (June 2025): +4. Business confidence has been deeply negative since March, sitting at -24 in April after the second-largest monthly drop on record in March. Any further deterioration would signal genuine recessionary risk in the business sector.
- Wednesday 8 July — FOMC meeting minutes (June 16–17). Chair Warsh held the federal funds rate at 3.50–3.75% at the June meeting, noting inflation remains elevated and economic activity is expanding at a solid pace. Warsh has made clear he is no fan of central banker forecasts and chose not to participate in the quarterly dot plot — making these minutes the best available window into the Fed’s internal deliberations. Markets will be looking for any signal on the conditions required for a cut.
- Thursday 9 July — US Initial Jobless Claims; Consensus: 235K. Prior week: 233K. Prior year (July 2025): 218K. China CPI (June) expected to remain subdued — deflationary pressure has been a persistent theme. Consensus: +0.2% YoY. Prior month (May 2026): +0.1%. Prior year (June 2025): +0.1%.
- Friday 10 July — US CPI (June). The Fed’s June projections revised PCE inflation expectations up from 2.4% to 3.6% for 2026, reflecting persistent energy cost pressures from the Middle East conflict. Consensus: +3.1% YoY (headline), +3.2% core. Prior month (May 2026): +3.3% headline, +3.4% core. Prior year (June 2025): +2.7% headline, +2.9% core.
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.
