ASX falls as JB Hi-Fi misses, NAB warns on Middle East and rates

Australian stocks slid through lunchtime, with a selloff in retail and bank stocks dragging the broader market lower. The S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 23 points, or 0.3%, to 9092.20. Eight of the 11 sectors were in the red.

Consumer discretionary was the worst sector, down 2.2%. JB Hi-Fi plunged 11.4% after reporting record sales and higher full-year profit that nonetheless fell short of market expectations. Customer spending weakened in the final quarter, the company said. Wesfarmers dropped 3.3%, Harvey Norman fell 4.2% and Eagers Automotive lost 2.6%. A2 Milk slid 2.1% after CEO David Bortolussi said the company had lost about 60% of customers who bought its Chinese-label products compared with December.

Banking stocks also weighed. National Australia Bank dropped 4.8% after warning that the Middle East conflict, higher interest rates and federal budget property tax changes were creating challenges for customers. ANZ fell 2.3%, Westpac slipped 0.2% and Commonwealth Bank was flat.

Technology stocks traded lower. WiseTech Global fell 2.3%, TechnologyOne lost 1.5%, while Megaport and Codan each dropped roughly 1%.

Gold held near US$4,400 an ounce, extending a two-week advance. Weaker US consumer sentiment and retail sales data weighed on the dollar and reduced fear of an imminent rate hike, traders said. Copper pushed higher, extending a seven-week rally toward a record. Three-month copper was up 1.2% at US$14,331 a tonne, closing in on the intraday record of US$14,527.50 from late January. Tightening near-term supply conditions drove a widening price spread on the London Metal Exchange.

In single-stock moves, Iress fell 9.4% despite reporting first-half net profit of $32 million, up from $17.3 million a year earlier. Audinate jumped 8.1% after reporting a $3.6 million underlying loss before tax for the full year, narrower than the $700,000 profit a year earlier. Aurizon plunged 9.6% despite underlying earnings of $1.72 billion, in line with analyst forecasts. The company also renewed a key coal agreement with the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance group in Queensland.

L1 Group gained 8.6% after full-year underlying net profit nearly doubled to $188.8 million. Lendlease fell 9.1% after swinging to a $749 million net loss for fiscal 2026 from a $225 million profit a year earlier. Australian Clinical Labs surged almost 20% after its earnings beat consensus. Revenue came in at $735.8 million, while underlying EBIT rose 2% to $69.2 million, above the $64.4 million consensus.

Analyst sentiment has turned less bullish ahead of BHP's full-year results due Tuesday.