ASX ends flat as gains by tech, Northern Star offset losses by banks

Updated June 2, 2026 — 5:02pm,first published June 2, 2026 — 5:17am

The Australian sharemarket recovered from an early slump and closed flat for the second day in a row as investors shrugged off uncertainty about the state of US-Iran peace talks to join Wall Street’s AI-fuelled tech exuberance.

Northern Star Resources shares soared after high-profile US hedge fund Elliott Investment Management said it had built a more than $1 billion stake in the gold miner and suggested the miner put itself up for sale after months of underperformance despite the gold rally.

The S&P/ASX 200 finished the session down five points, or less than 0.1 per cent, at 8724.40, following a flat session on Monday. Banks and property trusts led the declines, while miners and IT stocks rallied. The Australian dollar rose 0.2 per cent to US71.75¢.

“Ceasefire negotiations between the US and Iran have seen repeated false starts since April, and today’s lack of progress is no exception,” said Fabien Yip, a market analyst at IG in Sydney. “The market has grown accustomed to the back-and-forth.”

The key financial sector, which makes up more than a third of the ASX, led losses in early trade, but clawed back a lot of those as the session went on. Still, all big four banks closed lower, with CBA down 0.2 per cent, Westpac down 1.6 per cent, National Australia Bank down 0.9 per cent and ANZ Bank down 3 per cent.

Real estate investment trusts were also lower as bond yields rose, making government bonds look more attractive. Shopping centre landlords Scentre, Vicinity and Stockland had some of the sector’s biggest losses, finishing down 2.4 per cent, 4 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively. Data centre operator Goodman Group slipped 0.4 per cent.

Consumer-related stocks struggled, with Kmart and Bunnings owner Wesfarmers down 0.8 per cent, electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi losing 5.4 per cent, and furniture seller Harvey Norman down 2 per cent, while supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles dropped 1.9 per cent and 0.7 per cent. The latest ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence report, published before the market opened, showed Australian consumer confidence rose 2.7 points last week, its highest level since March, but is still down 17.5 per cent on its 2025 average. “Recent momentum in consumer demand has been soft,” said ANZ economist Sophia Angala.

Retailers were also affected by prospects of higher wage bills after the Fair Work Commission this morning lifted minimum and award wages by 4.75 per cent from July this year, giving millions of Australians a pay rise aimed at compensating them f