The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 2% to close at 8,708 on Friday, touching a one-month low, as broad-based sector losses followed a global stock market rout driven by concerns over heavy AI-related spending. The index also posted a 1.8% drop for the week, its largest weekly decline since November 2025, after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut rates in February and signalled further easing this year. Local technology stocks tumbled 3.4% to a more than two-year low, weighed down by hefty capital expenditure plans from US tech giants. Sector leaders Wisetech Global and Technology One fell around 5% each. Resource-linked shares also fell, as gold miners slid 3.2%, dragging the broader mining sector down 2.7% amid ongoing weakness in base metals. Heavyweight miners BHP and Fortescue declined 3.1% and 1.2%, respectively. Meanwhile, merger talks between Rio Tinto and Glencore ended after the companies failed to agree on valuation, scrapping a deal that would have created the world’s largest mining firm.
