ASX Bloodbath Wipes Gains as Middle East Tensions and Fed Hawkishness Spark Sell-Off
Paper Mandate Market & Portfolio Commentary | 28 May 2026
Fund Status:
Bal Start: $1,124,832
Bought SHA, GLF
Sold: None
Bal End: $1,111,217
Cash: $131,785
Market Commentary
Despite the waxing and waning news coming from the US/Iran negotiations, the US market ended their session slightly up (SP500 +0.02%). Meanwhile many other indices were down as well as WTI (-4.89%), copper (-0.95%) and gold (-1.21%). Unsurprisingly, Energy was the lead laggard (-1.52%). Interestingly, despite the risk-off sentiment Consumer Discretionary was the top performing sector (+1.89%). The IEL released a report stating that global oil demand would contract by 420,000 b/d in 2026. 1.3 million b/d less than pre-war estimates. At the same time, global supply declined by 1.8mb/d in April. Some interesting stock news: Salesforce Q1 FY27 revenue was up 13%, Snowflake Q1 FY27 product revenue up 34%, Braze Q1 FY27 revenue up 30%. ASX futures are down, indicating a soft day.
What a horrible session. The ASX 200 wiped out all of its gains from yesterday. A combination of escalating US-Iran military conflicts in the Middle East, rising bond yields, and hawkish commentary from Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook completely shattered the optimism. Materials (-2.43%) suffered the brunt of the sell-off, with the Gold Index dropping -7.40%. Staples (+0.25%) and Discretionary (+0.15%) were the only positive sectors. Luckily we had BVS, HMC, and CBO as our top portfolio defenders.
Portfolio Commentary
SHA announced it will acquire APS (Australian Professional Shopfitters). APS outfits retail outlets. This business integrates well with SHA’s business (office fitouts) without cannibalising the core business. Most of APS’ projects are valued at less than $500k. SHA will acquire 100% of APS for $20.4 in upfront cash (17.4m cash + 3m scrip) plus $9m in contingent consideration, paid over two years subject to performance hurdles.
GLF released record FY25 revenue and margins. Average home prices increased 18.4%. They have a 10+ year development pipeline. GLF reconfirmed its FY26 Guidance of Underlying EPS of 28.5c to 30.0c.
Investment Activity
Disclaimer: This is a paper portfolio. Content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research.