Evening Wrap: ASX 200 bounces off lows as unemployment rises to 4.6%, Soul Patts hits record high

In a nutshell:

• ASX 200 dodges a fresh three-month low as Staples, Utilities, Tech and Healthcare reverse early losses, while Materials and Real Estate lag on weaker metals and elevated bond yields

• Unemployment ticks up to 4.6% in August even though employment gains were nearly double ests, as higher participation and part-time roles drove the headline figure

• Two off-cycle reporters of interest, with Soul Patts closing at a record high on a 31.4% NAV lift and Premier Investments rallying on a dividend beat

Let's dive in

• ASX 200 managed to avoid a fresh three-month low as it bounced off session lows of (-1.34%)

• Staples, Utilities, Tech and Healthcare all reversed early declines to finish higher, while laggards Financials and Materials also closed well off their worst levels

• Energy (+1.1%) bounced off its 50-day moving average after a 4.5% pullback over the previous five sessions. Brent is hovering around breakeven near US$103 a barrel. There were few US-Iran developments during our session, with the latest being President Pezeshkian's refusal to allow freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz while sanctions and the US blockade remain in place

• Healthcare (+0.25%) has traded in an extremely tight range, aside from a 3% skid between 9 and 11 September that it recovered over the following three sessions. It makes you wonder whether the sector, and CSL in particular, can break out again after doubling from its early June lows

• Tech (+0.25%) and Discretionary (+0.1%) had a somewhat encouraging session, with both reversing steep early declines. Both have tumbled around 15% from their early to mid-August highs, so this is nothing exciting, just a reversal and a possible bottoming process (if they've bottomed at all)

• Financials (-0.8%) are looking quite bearish, trading around 2% from a fresh 16-month low. CBA has already started to roll over, undercutting its May low to close at its lowest level since 4 February

• Materials (-1.4%) staged a small recovery from a session low of -2.2%, but never stood a chance after copper and gold fell 1.5% and 1.6% overnight. The US Dollar Index also rose 0.5% to 101.11, its highest since 29 July. The Materials sector has whipsawed all year, and despite a 4% bounce in recent days, is on the backfoot again

• Real Estate (-1.9%) snapped a three-day winning streak in which it gained 2.1%, following a roughly 14% skid since 5 August. The sector is now trading at its lowest since January 2024, weighed down by soaring yields, the Bathla collapse and falling property prices. It's hard to have conviction here until bond yields show clearer signs of topping

As for interesting stocks today, a few results-driven movers, including:

• Soul Patts (+6.2%) opened 0.9% lower at $45.08 before closing at a record $48.33, taking its year-to-date gain to 31.4%. FY26 post-tax NAV rose 31.4% to $14.5bn, net cash flow from investments climbed 11.5% to $572m and dividends grew for a 28th straight year

• Premier Investments (+7.0%) slid 5.2% in early trade on a better-than-feared FY26 result. Premier Retail EBIT of $175.9m was in line with ests, while full-year dividends of 81cps beat 73.6cps ests

• Tuas (+0.2%) briefly bounced 9.2%, this follows a 23% results-day selloff on Wednesday amid M1 regulatory concerns. The underlying business is still growing, and S$498.8m in cash gives net cash backing of roughly $1.00 per share

• Australia unemployment rate up to 4.6% in August vs. 4.5% prior and 4.5% ests

  • Employment up 39,500 vs 20,000 ests, almost double what economists expected

  • Participation rate up 0.2ppt to 67.1%, as more people previously outside the labour force began looking for work

  • Full-time jobs down 6,300, with part-time roles up 45,800 driving the headline gain