Oil Price Rises, Higher Bond Yields, Dissent at the Federal Reserve.
Paper Mandate Market & Portfolio Commentary | 30 July 2026
Fund Status:
Bal Start: $1,108,613
Bought None
Sold: None
Bal End: $1,103,921
Cash: $107,175
Overnight Markets
The S&P500 tumbled -1.52% and the Dow Jones dropped -2.19%. Equity markets swung lower after a hawkish Fed rate hold saw three policymakers dissent in favour of a hike. This pushed US 30 Year yields up to 5.21%. Renewed Middle East tensions sent WTI jump +6.56% toward $84.50/bbl. Information Technology (-2.50%) and Industrials (-3.24%) led sector losses amid the ongoing semiconductor sell-off.
Australian Market
The ASX 200 closed down -0.78%. The spike in projected diesel input costs triggered a sell off across Gold (-3.6%) and Materials (-1.59%), overshadowing the gold spot price strength. Technology in Australia bucked the global, rallying +0.91%. It was the leading green sector led by WiseTech (+6.7%) and Xero (+1.4%), while Energy (+0.32%) posted a modest gain.
Portfolio Commentary
The portfolio fell -0.42% slightly outperforming the ASX 300 (-0.80%). The smaller decline was cushioned by the higher cash allocation (9.7%). Xero (+1.43%) and Judo (+1.57%) caught some buying interest, along with MVF (+1.46%) and SKS (+1.91%). Unfortunately it was commodities and financials that dragged the portfolio: OBM fell -4.98%. Zip dropped -4.45%, and HMC ended -3.41% down.
In addition, our positions in Cyclicals, Industrials and Real Estate dragged the portfolio down.
Investment Activity
None
Disclaimer: This is a paper portfolio. Content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research.