Afternoon Report | ASX slumps as BHP tumbles
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Welcome to the Fear and Greed Business News Afternoon Report for Friday, the 19th of June, 2026. I'm Michael Thompson. And every afternoon, we've got the five stories that happened today that you need to know about. Let's jump straight into story number one. The S&P ASX 200 fell 0.9% today to 8,829 points, dragged down by its biggest company. BHP fell 5.6% today. That is its biggest one-day drop in more than a year. That came after The Big Australian revealed fresh cost overruns at its Janssen Potash project in Canada. That project is now expected to cost at least US$6.9 billion, and that's more than 40% above the original estimate. Gold miners also, they were sold off today as higher US interest rate expectations weighed on commodity prices.
Newmont was off almost 7%. Evolution Mining lost around 5%. On the flip side, investors went for defensive stocks with CSL surging nearly 8% in its biggest one-day gain in almost four years. 4D Medical was up nearly 18%. For the week, the market eked out a slight 0.3% gain.
Why did the ASX slump with BHP's significant drop?
Story number two, there's a lot of fresh uncertainty over the implementation of this week's US-Iran peace agreement after planned talks in Switzerland were abruptly postponed. US Vice President J.D. Vance pulled out of a scheduled meeting tonight with Iranian negotiators that was expected to begin the detailed work of implementing the 14-point accord signed by the two countries. Swiss officials have now confirmed that the talks planned at the Bergenstock resort will not proceed. Meanwhile, J.D. Vance has publicly criticized members of the Israeli government who have attacked the deal, warning that the United States remains Israel's most important ally. Despite all of the setbacks, Donald Trump says he still expects a complete ceasefire across the region.
On to story number three, very much linked to story number two, the news of the talks being postponed sent oil prices slightly higher around the $80 a barrel mark. That is despite shipping activity through the Strait of Hormuz returning almost to normal following the peace deal signed, the interim peace deal signed this week. Despite the last minute rise, Brent crude is still down more than 8% for the week after dropping more than 6% last week. tanker traffic through the crucial waterway has begun recovering. And that is the key point here. Vessels carrying almost 10 million barrels of oil either transiting or waiting to pass through in the last 24 hours. Reuters reports that three of those to pass through the strait were Saudi-flagged supertankers,
With 6 million barrels of crude on board, the Strait of Hormuz is, of course, one of the world's most important energy choke points. And we've been talking about it for months, carrying roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day before the conflict started in late February. Story number four, back home now for this one. Victorian teachers have overwhelmingly rejected the state government's proposed pay agreement, raising the prospect of more strikes and school disruptions just months before the state election. We've talked about this on the Afternoon Report a number of times now. And this was almost a slightly unexpected development. This one, almost 58% of Australian Education Union members voted against the pay offer despite the union leadership previously backing the deal.
The agreement included pay rises of between 28% and 32% over four years and would have made Victorian teachers among the highest paid in Australia, although it did fall short of the 35% the teachers had been asking for. union leaders will now meet to consider industrial action, including possible 24-hour strikes, while the government faces renewed pressure to return to the negotiating table. Finally, story number five, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer could face a leadership challenge within days after his main rival for the job, former MP and the current mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, won a crucial by-election in Northern England. Now, Burnham secured almost 55% of the vote in the seat of Makerfield.
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Chapters
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