ASX ends week lower as miners slump, banks gain ground

Updated May 15, 2026 — 4:59pm,first published May 15, 2026 — 5:26am

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The Australian sharemarket closed the week in negative territory as mining stocks lost ground following days of record gains, and banks continued their recovery from sharp losses after Tuesday’s federal budget.

The S&P/ASX 200 was down 9.9 points, or 0.11 per cent, on Friday, taking the index to 8630.8, but leaving it 1.3 per cent lower over the five-day period. Nine of 11 industry sectors remain in positive territory.

Financial stocks, which suffered sharp losses after changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax were announced in the budget, bounced higher. Commonwealth Bank climbed 1.19 per cent, ANZ and Westpac rose 1.01 per cent and 0.34 per cent respectively, and National Australia Bank closed 0.27 per cent higher.