Staff writers
Updated July 17, 2026 — 5:08pm, first published July 17, 2026 — 5:19am
The Australian sharemarket finished the week with a session in the red after drops for computer chipmakers and other winners of the artificial-intelligence boom dragged down stock markets worldwide overnight.
Miners led the declines, extending Thursday’s losses, after the US launched its fifth straight day of attacks on Iran, reigniting concerns about the war’s implications for global growth as rising oil prices push up inflation.
Technology stocks weighed down Wall Street overnight, setting the tone for the local market. AP The S&P/ASX 200 was down 44 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 8796.70, even as seven of its 11 industry sectors advanced. The overall dip follows a flat session for the ASX on Thursday. The Australian dollar was trading at US69.86¢.
Iron ore heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto helped push the market into negative territory, sliding 2.7 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively, as they were sold down for a second day.
Gold miners were also down sharply, after bullion prices dropped over 2 per cent overnight to trade below $US4000 an ounce on fears the oil price spike will prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, a headwind for the demand for precious me
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