ASX edges up despite falls for iron ore miners; JB Hi-Fi surges

The Australian sharemarket edged higher on Monday as the technology sector bounced back sharply from a sell-off last week, even as weakness in the iron ore price dragged down shares in the country’s mining giants.

The S&P/ASX 200 rose 19.5 points or 0.2 per cent to 8937.10 at the close, with eight industry sectors moving higher, led by a strong rebound in technology shares.

Software businesses including WiseTech (up 12.9 per cent), Xero (up 7.6 per cent) and Technology One (up 5.6 per cent) rallied, after the sector tumbled on Friday amid investor fears over the threat from artificial intelligence.

The rebound in technology shares, alongside smaller rises in other sectors, helped to cushion the market from a slide in the big mining stocks, amid recent weakness in the iron ore price.

The three iron ore heavyweights all fell, with Rio Tinto losing 4.1 per cent, Fortescue shedding 4.7 per cent and BHP moving 1.5 per cent lower. Iron ore has fallen in recent days and was trading under US$100 a tonne on Monday on the back of increasing Chinese stockpiles and concerns about oversupply.

Rio Tinto also announced on Monday that a worker had died following an accident at the company’s SimFer mine at the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. Work has been suspended at the mine.

Gold stocks were mixed, with Northern Star rising 0.3 per cent while Evolution Mining fell 1.6 per cent.

It was a mixed day for banks, as Bendigo and Adelaide Bank reported its profits fell 3.3 per cent in the first half, to $256.4 million, as the bank’s income rose but its operating expenses also increased. It held the dividend flat at 30c a share, while flagging extra spending to improve its compliance with anti-money laundering laws. Bendigo shares fell 2.2 per cent.

The two biggest retail banks, Commonwealth Bank (up 1.2 per cent) and Westpac (up 0.2 per cent), both moved higher, while the more business-focused National Australia Bank (down 1 per cent) and ANZ Bank (down 3.1 per cent) both lost ground.

BlueScope shares fell 2.7 per cent after the steelmaker reported an 81 per cent jump in December-half earnings to $558 million, as President Donald Trump’s hike in US steel tariffs led to “stronger US steel spreads” for its products manufactured in the US. This offset a softer performance in Australia and Asia for its locally manufactured steel which competes against China’s steel glut.

The company, which is the target of a takeover bid by Kerry Stokes SGH and US-based Steel Dynamics, also announced it will deliver $3 a share to investors this calendar year via a $1 per share special dividend, $1.30 per share in ongoing dividends, and a $310 million market buyback worth around 70c per share.

The owner of Penfolds, Treasury Wine Estates, slumped 5.2 per cent after announcing declines across almost all of its metrics for the first half of the 2026 financial year and suspending its interim dividend. Earnings of $236 million was a 66 per cent fall on last year; net sales revenue of nearly $1.3 billion represented a decline of 16 per cent, while sales revenue per case fell 5.1 per cent. The winemaker recorded a loss after tax of nearly $650 million for the half-year as demand for wine in China and the US weakened.

Electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi added 7.5 per cent after announcing a sales uplift of 7.3 per cent to $6.1 billion, a similar 7.1 per cent lift in net profits to $305.8 million, and an interim dividend of 210 cents per share, which is 23.5 per cent higher than this time last year.

The tech retailer attributed the strong numbers to ongoing high demand for consumer electronics, as well as a well-executed promotions program.

Energy stocks were mixed, with Woodside Energy and Yancoal both up 0.2 per cent, while Santos was flat and Whitehaven Coal fell 0.1 per cent.

Coles rose 0.1 per cent as a landmark legal case brought by the consumer watchdog got under way in the Federal Court. The ACCC is alleging some of the supermarket giant’s discounts were illusory. Woolworths also rose 0.1 per cent higher.

Housing estate developer Stockland’s chief executive officer Tarun Gupta said higher settlement volumes of land lot sales, a boost from its development fee income and resilience in its warehouse and shopping centre portfolios contributed to a strong first half result. Funds from operations for the six months to December were $325 million, up $74 million on the prior corresponding period. Stockland’s statutory profit was up, at $292 million, after a boost in property valuations of $81 million on a “look-through basis” across its investment platform. Stockland shares gained 2.3 per cent.

The Australian dollar was trading at US70.87¢ at 5.08pm AEDT.

US stocks steadied on Friday after an encouraging update on inflation helped calm a Wall Street that’s been racked by worries about how artificial-intelligence technology may upend the business world.

The S&P 500 barely budged, a day after it had tumbled to one of its worst losses since Thanksgiving. The Dow Jones rose 48 points, or 0.1 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2 per cent.

Wall Street stocks got some help from easing Treasury yields, which fell after a report showed inflation slowed last month by more than economists expected. US consumers paid prices for groceries, clothes and other costs of living that were 2.4 per cent higher overall than a year earlier.

On Wall Street, stock prices steadied for several companies that investors had earlier targeted as potential losers from AI disruption.

The heaviest weight on the market was Nvidia, which fell 2.2 per cent. Because it’s the largest stock on Wall Street, its moves carry more weight on the S&P 500 than any other company’s.

With AP, Bloomberg

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