Tech stocks surge; battle for NRL rights; Aussie unis drop down rankings
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to Fear and Greed, business news you can use today.
Why did local tech stocks surge despite being the worst performers on the ASX?
Local tech stocks surged yesterday, but the sector remains the worst performer on the local ASX in sharp contrast to many other global markets. Broadcasters battled to win the rights to the National Rugby League and Australian universities dropped down global rankings. Plus, a poll says One Nation is now the most popular political party in the country and how Ford Motors pivoted away from cars and triggered a surge in its share price. It is Tuesday, the 2nd of June, 2026. I'm Michael Thompson, and good morning, Sean Aylmer. Good morning, Michael. Sean, the main story this morning, local tech stocks, well, they surged yesterday with battered companies like WiseTech Global and ProMedicus and Xero leading the ASX 200.
While on Wall Street and on Asian bourses, tech stocks have led indices to record highs, the failure of the local tech stocks to really ignite has been part of the reason that the ASX has underperformed this year. Xero is now the biggest of the local tech stocks, worth just shy of $14 billion. Its share price surged 8% yesterday, but it is down 29% this year. One time wonder stock, WiseTech Global is next. It jumped 9% yesterday, but it's still off 43% in 2026.
That's right. Pro Medicus is a tech-based company, though it's actually part of the healthcare index. Its share price is down 35% this year, but after announcing a couple of contract wins yesterday, it jumped about 9%. Not all the tech stocks have done poorly.
What is the current battle for NRL broadcasting rights about?
So data center group NextDC is an outperformer. It's up 26% this year on the back of some big contract wins. Technology, one, has also outperformed strongly, but at least until yesterday, the local tech index has been by far the worst performer in the bourse. It's down 13% compared to the resources index, for example, which is up 20%. That's the yin and yang of the market. The ASX200 is about flat. Now, the main reason for the poor local performance of tech companies is that they're mostly SaaS companies, software as a service companies.
What factors contributed to One Nation becoming the most popular political party?
And the concern is that AI could undermine their business models, the so-called SaaSpocalypse. The companies more leveraged to AI and data centers like NextDC have done well. The others, though, have done poorly. The question is, how far will they fall or have they reached their bottom? And as the big bounce yesterday suggests, people realise that they've probably been oversold.
The Australian market seems to be running against the trend, doesn't it? Because the Wall Street tech index is up 15% this year, which has accounted for pretty much all
How did Australian universities rank in the latest global survey?
of the S&P 500's rise. And then closer to home, you've got the share markets in Japan and Taiwan. They're all near record levels.
How has Ford Motors shifted its focus to trigger a surge in share price?
They are. In fact, Taiwan has overtaken India as the world's fifth largest share market. And that's because of the rally in Taiwan's semiconductor manufacturing code. Now, that's the world's largest shipmaker. chip maker. I don't know why I said that, Michael. Chip maker. How about that? World's largest chip maker. It might be the fifth largest market, Taiwan, still a minnow compared to Wall Street. The value of the US stock market, according to Bloomberg, 78 trillion US dollars. Next is mainland China, 16 trillion US, then Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan.
What are the implications of KPMG's data breach on its clients?
But if you put the next nine markets together, the US market is still a third bigger. In those nine markets combined, Australia at about $2.2 trillion is not in the top 10 markets globally. I suppose the point of all this is the tech stocks seem to be driving the market, but it's become a very much a bifurcated tech industry. On one side, you've got data centers and AI. On the other, you've got SAS companies, and the SAS companies aren't doing well. The data centers and the AI companies are doing really well. And great use of the term bifurcated as well.
Yeah, I know. It doesn't get enough of a run.
What strategies are broadcasters using to secure NRL rights?
Yeah, it doesn't. It's one of those words I always drop in a sentence. I'm going to use it at a school drop-off this morning. God, look at the weather.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:06–0:09
2
Why did local tech stocks surge despite being the worst performers on the ASX?
0:09–1:44
3
What is the current battle for NRL broadcasting rights about?
1:44–2:19
4
What factors contributed to One Nation becoming the most popular political party?
2:19–2:56
5
How did Australian universities rank in the latest global survey?
2:56–3:04
6
How has Ford Motors shifted its focus to trigger a surge in share price?
3:04–3:39
7
What are the implications of KPMG's data breach on its clients?
3:39–4:21
8
What strategies are broadcasters using to secure NRL rights?
4:21–16:41