ASX 200 report:
20 August 2026

The Australia 200 trades 22 points (+0.24%) higher at 9075 at 3.30pm AEST.

ASX 200 snaps towards ending losing streak

The ASX 200 is poised to snap a six-day losing streak, supported by gains on Wall Street and a more positive mix of earnings updates, which saw the index jump 57 points (+0.63%) to a high of 9111.2 before giving back a chunk of those gains.

In today's economic news, the July labour force report showed employment in Australia fell by 16,000, well below the 15,000 gain expected. The unemployment rate rose to 4.5% (above the 4.4% expected) while the participation rate eased to 66.9%.

Today's softer report reinforces the view that the labour market is loosening broadly in line with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)'s updated projections and brings a degree of comfort after a red-hot jobs report in June fuelled concerns around labour market tightness and triggered a hawkish repricing in the rates market.

ASX 200 stocks

Financials sector

The retreat from the highs came as the heavyweight financial sector dropped 1.84%, with investors continuing to leave the sector in response to recent trading updates that have more fully revealed the impact of the federal government's significant budget changes on the housing market and mortgage demand.

•  Commonwealth Bank of Australia slipped 2.48% to $156.72 and is now more than 13.50% from the $181.40 high it hit earlier this month
• Westpac Banking Corporation dropped 2.21% to $33.68
• ANZ Group Holdings declined 1.93% to $36.89
• National Australia Bank fell 1.80% to $38.22.

Health care sector

It was another good day for the rejuvenated health care sector, which continues to attract money on the back of cheaper valuations after last year's heavy falls and as earnings updates from key members offer a clearer pathway back to growth.

• Today it was Telix Pharmaceuticals's turn as it jumped 4.57% to $17.61 after its H1 FY26 report showed group revenue rising 22% to $477 million, with Illuccix and Gozellix sales up 27%, and the company tracking towards the upper end of its full-year revenue guidance of $950 million - $970 million.
• Pro Medicus lifted 4.37% to $207.53
• CSL gained 3.69% to $172.59, now up a jaw-dropping 26.5% this week alone.

Earnings winners and losers drive market action

In today's earnings news the winners were:

• Super Retail Group jumped 14.45% to $14.38 as its Financial Year 2026 (FY26) results showed group sales rising 3.2% to $4.2 billion and normalised net profit after tax (NPAT) of $226 million, down only 2.8%. The market responded positively to the resilient top-line performance, stable margins and a fully franked final dividend of 33 cents.

• Zip Co surged 18.22% to $3.05 as its FY26 results showed revenue of $1,347.4 million (up 24.6%) and cash earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $268.9 million (up 57.9%), with statutory NPAT rising 45.7% to $116.4 million. Strong United States (US) transaction volume growth of 42.5% and a sharp expansion in operating margins drove the positive reaction.

On the other side of the ledger:

• IDP Education was poleaxed 20.74% to $1.72 as its FY26 report showed revenue of $795.4 million (down 9%) and statutory NPAT of just $13.3 million (down 74%). Soft student placement volumes and weaker Financial Year 2027 (FY27) adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) guidance of $95 million - $115 million drove the sharp sell-off.

• Downer EDI plunged 10.27% to $6.69 as it delivered underlying EBITA of $502.9 million (up 6%) and NPATA in line with guidance, but the market focused on a softer near-term outlook for the first half of FY27.

Looking ahead, tomorrow brings earnings results from companies including TPG Telecom, Charter Hall Retail REIT, Inghams Group and Lifestyle Communities.

Earnings previews for companies reporting next week, including Coles here, WiseTech here, Qantas here and DroneShield here, are now online.

ASX 200 technical analysis

The ASX 200 spent the better part of 17 weeks confined within an 8500 - 9000 range before releasing that pent-up energy at the start of August and hitting a fresh record high of 9296.7. Since then, we have been expecting a pullback towards 9000 and that view has played out reasonably well, with the index yesterday hitting a low of 9019.50.

Looking ahead, provided the ASX 200 holds above the 9000 - 8900 support region (former range resistance), we expect to see a retest and break of the 9296.7 record high in the months ahead.

ASX 200 daily candlestick chart

• _{Source: TradingView. The figures stated are as of 20 August 2026. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This report does not contain and is not to be taken as containing any financial product advice or financial product recommendation.}