ASX 200 Falls as Uranium and Precious Metals Slide After US Earnings Shock
The S&P/ASX 200 slipped 39 points to close at 8,889.2 (down 0.43%) as global risk appetite weakened after a sharp overnight sell-off tied to US earnings. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares plunged 17.3% on weak guidance for fiscal Q1 2026, prompting broad risk-off sentiment. Commodity-linked sectors led losses: uranium futures fell about 5.09% to roughly US$86/lb (about 15% below last week’s peak), driving heavy declines in Bannerman Energy (-10.54%), Paladin Energy (-9.87%) and Boss Energy (-8.74%). Precious metals saw renewed volatility—silver plunged as much as 15% and gold dropped 3.3%—pushing miners like Silver Mines (-8.16%), Genesis Mining (-6.29%) and Newmont (-5.64%) lower. Energy names eased after renewed US–Iran nuclear talks reduced near-term oil upside; Beach Energy, Santos and Woodside all retreated. Rare earth stocks reversed gains on policy comments about a preferential trade bloc, hitting Metallium and Lynas. Selective resilience appeared in tech: Seek, Block and TechnologyOne rose as bargain buying emerged. Overall, materials, energy and gold were the biggest sector drags while consumer discretionary, financials and staples limited index losses. Key takeaways for traders: heightened commodity volatility (uranium, gold, silver) can prompt rapid sector rotations; earnings-driven risk sentiment (AMD shock) may spill into resource and tech exposure; monitor uranium futures, precious metals prices and US earnings flow for near-term trading signals.
Bearish
The news signals a bearish near-term outlook. A US earnings shock (AMD’s weak guidance and 17.3% drop) triggered broad risk-off sentiment that spread to commodity and resource sectors. Significant declines in uranium futures (~5.1%, ~15% off last week’s peak) and sharp falls in silver and gold increase downside pressure on miners and resource-linked equities, which historically suffer under similar commodity sell-offs. Renewed geopolitical/diplomatic developments (resumed US–Iran talks) also removed some oil upside, pressuring energy names. For traders this implies elevated short-term volatility and higher probability of sector rotations away from materials, precious metals and some energy stocks into defensive sectors (consumer staples, financials) or selective tech bargains. In the short term expect continued downside risk and opportunistic spikes for short sellers; monitor futures and earnings flow. In the longer term, the move may be corrective rather than structural if commodity fundamentals (nuclear demand, precious metals safe-haven demand) recover; however, persistent weak earnings guidance or extended commodity downtrends could prolong bearish conditions.