ASX caps ‘toughest year’ for stock pickers with no end in sight

Stock pickers have endured one of the most challenging 12-month periods on the ASX in living memory. Those that backed the mining sector were handsomely rewarded, but those that bet on technology or healthcare were brutally wrong-footed by former blue chips.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index eked out a 2.8 per cent gain for the 2026 financial year, its worst showing since 2022 and well below a long-term average of 5.7 per cent.

Source: https://www.afr.com/markets/equity-markets/asx-caps-toughest-year-for-stock-pickers-with-no-end-in-sight-20260629-p60b1l