SYDNEY, Australia — The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 97.80 points, or 1.13%, to close at 8,574.00 on Thursday, April 2, 2026, extending recent weakness as persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, elevated oil prices and concerns over sticky inflation continued to weigh on investor sentiment.
S&P/ASX 200 index fell 97.80 points
The benchmark Australian share index opened near 8,671.80 and traded in a wide range, hitting an intraday high of 8,723.30 before sliding to a low around 8,570.20 in afternoon trade. The decline came amid broad-based selling, with financials, technology and materials sectors leading losses despite some resilience in energy names.
This latest drop adds to a challenging start to April following a difficult March, when the ASX 200 lost approximately 7.5% — its worst monthly performance since June 2022. The index now sits roughly 8% below its all-time high near 9,202 set in late February 2026, reflecting the cumulative impact of global risk aversion.
Rising oil prices remained a dominant theme. Brent crude has stayed elevated due to ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, with concerns over potential supply disruptions through key routes like the Strait of Hormuz. Higher energy costs are feeding into inflation worries, complicating the outlook for the Reserve Bank of Australia and pressuring growth-sensitive sectors.
“Geopolitical risk and its direct translation into higher fuel costs are forcing investors to reassess domestic growth prospects,” said one Sydney-based fund manager. “When oil remains above $110–$118 per barrel, it adds meaningful upward pressure on headline inflation, limiting the scope for near-term rate relief.”
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Financial stocks, which carry heavy weighting in the index, faced notable selling. The major banks — Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, National Australia Bank and ANZ — traded lower as traders weighed the implications of potentially higher-for-longer interest rates. Elevated borrowing costs could dampen consumer spending and housing activity, key drivers for the Australian economy.
Materials and mining stocks showed mixed performance. While some energy-related names gained on higher crude prices, iron ore and base metal plays retreated amid softer Chinese demand signals and broader risk-off flows. Gold miners provided limited haven support but could not offset sector-wide weakness.
Technology stocks extended recent softness, with investors rotating away from high-valuation growth names amid global concerns over artificial intelligence adoption timelines and stretched valuations. Consumer discretionary shares also came under pressure as higher fuel and living costs squeezed household budgets.
The session occurred against a backdrop of mixed domestic economic signals. Recent labour data has been uneven, while inflation readings have remained above the RBA’s 2-3% target band. Markets are pricing in a high probability of cautious monetary policy, with some analysts even flagging the risk of further rate hikes if oil-driven inflation persists.
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The Australian dollar traded modestly softer against the U.S. dollar, reflecting reduced risk appetite, while bond yields showed little directional conviction as investors balanced inflation fears with safe-haven flows.
Market breadth was negative, with decliners comfortably outnumbering advancers across the broader ASX. Trading volume was solid, indicating active participation from institutional investors adjusting positions early in the new quarter.
Analysts noted that while Australia’s underlying economic fundamentals — supported by resource exports and a still-resilient labour market — provide some buffer, external factors continue to dominate near-term sentiment. The OECD has warned that Australia could face among the higher inflation rates in advanced economies if energy prices remain elevated.
Smaller companies in the ASX 300 largely mirrored the benchmark’s weakness, though some defensive and value-oriented names held up better. The All Ordinaries index also closed lower in line with the S&P/ASX 200.
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Looking ahead, investors will closely monitor upcoming domestic data releases, including any updates on inflation, retail sales and trade balances. The RBA’s next policy meeting remains a focal point, with decisions likely influenced by the trajectory of global oil prices and geopolitical developments.
International cues will continue to play a critical role. Overnight movements on Wall Street, shifts in commodity prices and any fresh news from the Middle East are expected to set the tone for Friday’s trading. Asian markets, particularly China’s performance, will also be watched for demand signals affecting Australian resource companies.
Despite the day’s decline, some strategists see selective opportunities in quality companies with strong balance sheets and exposure to essential commodities. Dividend yields in the Australian market remain relatively attractive compared with many global peers, providing some support for income-focused investors.
For retail investors, the current environment underscores the importance of diversification and maintaining a long-term perspective amid short-term volatility. Financial advisers recommend focusing on businesses with pricing power and resilience to higher input costs rather than chasing momentum plays.
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The S&P/ASX 200’s close at 8,574.00 leaves it testing recent support levels. Whether this represents another leg in the broader correction or a pause ahead of potential stabilisation will depend heavily on de-escalation signals from the Middle East, cooling energy prices and clearer domestic economic data.
Futures trading pointed to continued caution heading into Friday’s session. Market participants will balance ongoing external pressures against Australia’s role as a major supplier of critical resources and its relatively stable underlying growth drivers.
In summary, Thursday’s 1.13% decline in the S&P/ASX 200 highlights the persistent influence of global oil volatility and geopolitical uncertainty on Australian equities. While energy and select defensives offered pockets of relative strength, broader caution prevailed as investors navigated inflation risks and a more uncertain growth outlook.
Around 11 equity mutual funds delivered over 10% returns in May, led by international and technology-focused funds such as Mirae Asset AI ETF FoF, Nippon India Taiwan Equity Fund and Edelweiss US Tech Fund.
Mahindra Manulife Mutual Fund announced the launch of ‘MPOWER SIF’ marking its entry into SEBI’s newly notified investment product called Specialized Investment Fund and reinforcing its commitment to bringing differentiated investment solutions to investors.
With MPOWER SIF, Mahindra Manulife Mutual Fund aims to address the evolving needs of investors, who are looking to complement their existing mutual funds with products that use derivatives and other tools to create different risk return outcomes.
The fund house aims to provide a client experience that seeks to meet the investors aspiration, whilst remaining true to the core premise of creating investment outcomes that are consistent and meaningful.
“The launch of MPOWER SIF is a significant step forward in expanding our product suite. As investors and their goals and aspirations evolve over time, there is a clear requirement for investment solutions that offer greater flexibility and use the entire range of tools available to deliver consistent outcomes. This approach is complemented by an investment team with extensive experience anchored by a sound risk management framework,” said Anthony Heredia, MD & CEO, Mahindra Manulife Investment Management.
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Mahindra Manulife Mutual Fund intends to roll out a range of differentiated strategies under MPOWER SIF across equity, hybrid, and fixed income categories, aligned with regulatory guidelines and investor suitability. “MPOWER SIF gives us the flexibility to design more agile and outcome-oriented portfolios by leveraging a wider investment toolkit. This platform will enable us to combine fundamental research with tactical allocation strategies, with the objective of delivering superior risk-adjusted returns across market cycles. We believe it is well suited for investors seeking a more nuanced approach to portfolio construction,” said Krishna Sanghavi, Chief Investment Officer – Equity, Mahindra Manulife Investment Management.Also Read | Should senior citizens continue investing in equity mutual funds after retirement? Expert explains
The SIF category offers strategies that go beyond conventional Mutual Funds, including long-short approaches, derivatives-based strategies, and more focused portfolio construction, catering to investors seeking a different approach to meeting their investment goals.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
If you have any mutual fund queries, message on ET Mutual Funds on Facebook/Twitter. We will get it answered by our panel of experts. Do share your questions on ETMFqueries@timesinternet.in alongwith your age, risk profile, and Twitter handle.
My name is David B McMillan and I am an investor interested in fundamental valuation. My philosophy is fundamental investing – I seek to identify underpriced securities relative to their potential future cash flows. I also use tactical allocation, investing more aggressively when equity prices are lower, and more conservatively when they are higher. I have a BS in Physics and BA in Philosophy from UCSB, and am currently a CFA Level 2 candidate. I am mostly interested in covering stocks in the aerospace and defense sector, but I am also interested in retail and tech companies. I have a 12 year investing track record, with documented investments in AI, tech, and crypto themes before they were widely understood – NVDA in 2017, 8000 percent gain; PLTR at IPO, 1870 percent gain; AMD in 2017, 3700 percent gain; TSLA in 2016, 3400 percent gain. Had all of Mag 7 in my portfolio by 2018, before those stocks were called the Mag 7. My current demo portfolio, started in April 2025 with about $8k of my my own capital, is so far achieving a Sharpe ratio of 3.49 compared to IVV of 2.42 in the same time period. My average time-weighted return is 0.30 percent per day vs IVV at 0.14 percent per day.
Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) emerged as heavy sellers in Indian equities on Friday, pulling out a net Rs 20,637 crore in a single session, recording one of the sharpest single-day selloffs in recent years, as markets grappled with the impact of the latest MSCI index rebalancing.
Before this, the sharpest fall occurred last month (April 2, 2026), when FIIs pulled out Rs 19,837 crore in a single day, data from ACE Equity showed.
The selloff came as benchmark indices fell 1.5%, with market participants attributing much of the late-session weakness to passive fund flows linked to the index reshuffle. The scale of foreign investor activity stood out not just because of the outflow figure, but also because of the sheer volume traded during the session.
FPIs accounted for Rs 198,465 crore of trading activity out of the NSE’s total turnover of Rs 287,452 crore, representing nearly 69% of the day’s traded value, provisional data on the NSE showed.
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Despite ending the day as net sellers of Rs 20,637 crore, FPIs traded nearly 9.6 times that amount during the session. In comparison, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Rs 16,260 crore and recorded total trades worth Rs 53,772 crore, or around 3.3 times their net purchase value.
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The high participation prompted questions over whether the activity was solely driven by MSCI-related portfolio adjustments or whether high-frequency trading (HFT) strategies amplified volumes around the index rebalance. The size of the turnover also sparked debate over how much of the reported foreign outflow reflected actual portfolio repositioning and how much may have been linked to short-term trading activity. Nilesh Shah, MD of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management, questioned whether the surge in activity was surprising given that Indian equities are currently not a key focus area for FPIs. He also asked whether Friday’s volumes were driven purely by MSCI rebalancing or whether high-frequency trading (HFT) activity around the index reshuffle had amplified turnover. Shah further wondered how much of the reported net FPI outflow of Rs 20,637 crore could be attributed to HFT trades.Market expert Gurmeet Chadha also questioned the sharp rise in trading volumes, arguing that ‘speed and money muscle’ were being used to distort market moves. He further highlighted the addition of 31,000 short contracts even as Brent crude hovered around $90 a barrel and hopes of a weekend deal persisted. Calling the activity suspicious, he said ‘we need to act and trap this cartel’.
According to Abhilash Pagaria, Head of Alternative and Quantitative Research at NuvamaWealth, the rebalancing led to outflows of around Rs 8,000-8,500 crore. He said the figure was somewhat higher than in previous reviews due to free-float adjustments in stocks such as Bajaj Finance, HUL and TCS, among others, describing the impact as a one-time adjustment arising from a new methodology.
The review also resulted in weight increases for Adani Power, BPCL, Nykaa, Trent and OFFS. Despite the reshuffle, India’s overall weight in the MSCI Standard Index remained broadly stable at around 12.3%, compared with 12.4% earlier. The total number of Indian constituents in the index also remained unchanged at 165.
Beyond the Standard Index, MSCI announced a broader rejig of its Small Cap Index. According to Nuvama, more than a dozen Indian stocks were excluded, reducing the India stock count to 459 from 474. New additions included IREDA, Anthem Biosciences, Fractal Analytics, Pine Labs and Emmvee Photovoltaic, while Cello World, Redtape, Raymond Lifestyle, Indigo Paints, Balu Forge and Blue Jet Healthcare were among the exclusions.
Index review days typically witness elevated volumes as passive funds tracking MSCI benchmarks adjust their holdings to match the revised composition.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
Investors closely track the portfolios of leading market participants on Dalal Street. In this context, ETMarkets analysed the investment holdings of veteran investor Sunil Singhania’s Abakkus Asset Manager, a prominent Indian investment firm. Based on the latest shareholding data for the March 2026 quarter, Abakkus holds stakes in nearly 32 listed companies, with a combined portfolio value of around Rs 2,742 crore as of May 29, 2026. This represents an increase of approximately 6% from Rs 2,577 crore reported at the end of December 2025. The analysis includes only those companies in which the investor holds more than a 1% stake and may not represent the entirety of the portfolio.
A closer look at the portfolio’s CY26 performance reveals that a majority of the stocks have delivered negative returns. Among them, seven stocks have declined by more than 20% in the first five months of the year. On the other hand, a handful of holdings have emerged as strong performers. We highlight the top six gainers in the portfolio, which have rallied between 20% and 75% so far in CY26. The portfolio also witnessed six new additions during the March 2026 quarter. (Data Source: ACE Equity, Trendlyne).
Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) Bernstein 42nd Annual Strategic Decisions Conference May 28, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
Company Participants
Stéphane Bancel – CEO & Director
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Conference Call Participants
Courtney Breen – Bernstein Institutional Services LLC, Research Division
Presentation
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Courtney Breen Bernstein Institutional Services LLC, Research Division
Welcome, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us for this conversation about Moderna. My name is Courtney Breen. I am the U.S. pharma analyst here at Bernstein. And it is my privilege to have Stephane Bancel here with me, the CEO and Chairman of Moderna. He’s been in this role for a decent amount of time as well and has seen Moderna through the ages and through the different eras of the company. So I’m really excited to kind of have an opportunity to dive into kind of Moderna today, where Moderna has come from and where Moderna might be going in the future.
I also know that AI is a super important topic for all investors these days. So we’ll be hoping to touch on kind of the impact and potential of AI and drug discovery and kind of in operating some of these businesses. But I do also want to remind you that if there are other topics that I’m not planning on covering that you’d love to have covered in this conversation, please do send them through the Pigeonhole app. You’ll find a QR code to be able to send them through. I’ll receive them up here and can integrate them into the conversation. So we want to make this as relevant and as impactful for everyone that’s here.
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Question-and-Answer Session
Courtney Breen Bernstein Institutional Services LLC, Research Division
But without further ado, Stephane, again, thank you so much for joining us here today. As I mentioned, you’ve been leading Moderna for a while, I think, since 2011. It
Therrian Fontenot is a former football athlete whose career has been built on discipline, resilience, and leadership.
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Fontenot’s story reflects perseverance, structure, and the belief that consistent effort creates long-term opportunities.
Q&A With Former Football Athlete Therrian Fontenot
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