ASX Falls 1.4%, but Ends Week up; Austal, Cochlear Sink
The Australian sharemarket fell on Friday as fears of AI-driven overinvestment and disruption to software companies triggered broad selling.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 125.90 points, or 1.4%, to 8917.60, with nine of the 11 sectors lower. The benchmark gained 2.4% for the week.
Concerns that AI could erode software companies’ margins have seen the ASX tech sector shed 23% of its value over the past month. WiseTech Global fell 10.4% to $42.62 on Friday, Xero by 4.5% to $73.49, and TechnologyOne 7.1% to $20.17.
Morningstar market strategist Lochlan Halloway said the so-called “SaaSpocalypse” has been building for months, with AI threatening every variable in the SaaS model: seats, modules, and price.
“Some software companies, particularly those selling commoditised tools with shallow integrations, face a genuine existential threat,” he said. “If one person can now do the work of two, seat counts fall… And if the price of ‘work’ collapses, so too could the value of a software vendor’s product.”
Gold recovered some losses to just under $US5000 an ounce after a sharp selloff in the previous session, as dip-buyers snapped up the metal ahead of key US inflation data. Northern Star fell 3.5% to $28.37, Newmont 1.9% to $169.12, and Genesis Minerals 4.6% to $6.87.
Banks saw profit-taking after recent gains. Commonwealth Bank dropped 1.4% to $176.20, National Australia Bank 1.1% to $46.01, and Westpac 1.2% to $40.52, as its net interest margin shrank despite a better-than-expected $1.9 billion profit. ANZ rose 1.3% to $40.89 after a Morgan Stanley upgrade, while AMP jumped 9% to $1.39 following its biggest rebound in over 20 years.
Austal plunged 22,8% to $4.87 after cutting FY26 earnings guidance by 18% to $110 million following a financial error.
Cochlear fell 18.9% to $199.22 after a 21% drop in net profit to $162 million, and flagged full-year profit at the lower end of $435 million–$460 million guidance.
Webjet tumbled 25.2% to 58¢ after ending takeover talks with Helloworld and BGH Capital and trimming underlying FY26 EBITDA guidance to $28–29 million, excluding Webjet Business Travel.
GQG Partners rose 7.8% to $1.73 on a slight beat on second half distributable earnings as funds under management rose 10.8% to $US164.3 billion in 2025.
Nick Scali fell 22.3% to $18.48 as weaker than expected sales in Australia and New Zealand offset strong UK results.
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