Tech Retreats as SKS and Megaport Erase SaaS Gains
Paper Mandate Market & Portfolio Commentary | 17 July 2026
Fund Status:
Bal Start: $1,154,262
Bought MVF
Sold: None
Bal End: $1,133,061
Cash: $108,054
Overnight Markets
Wall Street retreated overnight as semiconductors overshadowed a rotation into defensive sectors. The Nasdaq lead losses, falling -1.47%, alongside the S&P 500 (-0.51%). Technology sentiment remains fragile; despite strong quarterly numbers from TSMC. It raised their 2026 capex guidance to US$60-64bn from US$52-56bn sparking concerns over sustainable AI spending. Interestingly, the SaaS subsector actually rose +0.86%. Market breadth showed some strength with Consumer Staples (+2.90%), Healthcare (+2.21%), and Real Estate (+2.10%) all rallying.
Continued military activity near the Strait of Hormuz has kept crude prices high and Treasury yields elevated, further compounded by hawkish Fed commentary cooling rate cut expectations. This combination hit commodities with gold and copper down.
Australian Market
The ASX 200 ended the week on a soft note, sliding -0.50% as risk-off swept through resources and technology. Materials (-2.91%) was the session’s primary anchor, with the Gold Sub-Index plunging -4.9%, as Ora Banda (-7.4%) and Northern Star (-4.1%) were both hit hard. Copper players were also squeezed, with Capstone Copper and Sandfire both falling -5.4%. Staples (+1.06%) attracted flows, highlighted by a +2.9% gain in Coles.
Portfolio Commentary
It was brutal across the board. Technology and Materials dragged the portfolio lower. SKS took the steepest hit, plunging -10.78% but luckily, we had already cut the position by half previously. Megaport also fell -8.48%, mirroring tech moves overnight. Zip fell -5.10% and announced it was stopping its operations in New Zealand. The silver lining came from Woodside (+3.29%), while Coles (+2.88%) and GDG (+2.30%) finished up. We also had a limit order execute on Monash IVF, initiating at 1%.
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.