BlueScope's Shock Bid Steals Spotlight As Aussie Stocks Take Mid-Market Hit

ChainDoctor · 2026-01-12T16:58:19+00:00

Australian equities fell despite a strong start, with the S&P/ASX 200 down 0.46%. Financial and gold mining sectors struggled, while technology and mining stocks offered some support. BlueScope Steel surged nearly 22% after a takeover bid, and the services sector showed moderate growth.

ChainDoctor

2026-01-12 16:58:19

Abstract generation in progress

Australian equities retreated into red territory during mid-market trading on Tuesday, despite opening on a positive note and riding on encouraging overnight signals from Wall Street. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 40.50 points or 0.46 percent to 8,688.10, after peaking at 8,771.30 in early trade, while the broader All Ordinaries Index lost 33.70 points or 0.37 percent to 9,001.00.

The selling pressure came primarily from the financial and gold mining sectors. All four major banks—Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking, and Westpac—were hit hard, each losing over 2 percent. Meanwhile, gold stocks weakened across the board, with Evolution Mining, Resolute Mining, and Newmont down 0.2 to 0.5 percent, though Northern Star Resources managed to edge up 0.4 percent.

However, the mid-market action revealed a bifurcated picture. Technology stocks provided a counterweight to these losses, with Block (Afterpay’s parent) surging over 4 percent, Xero climbing nearly 1 percent, and both Appen and Zip gaining more than 1 percent. WiseTech Global was the outlier, slipping almost 1 percent.

Among mining giants, BHP Group posted gains exceeding 1 percent, and both Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto added nearly 1 percent each. Fortescue, however, stumbled with a near 2 percent decline. Oil stocks were mixed, with Beach Energy and Origin Energy losing 0.2 to 0.4 percent, while Woodside Energy and Santos edged up 0.3 to 0.5 percent.

The real headline was BlueScope Steel’s mid-market explosion—the stock soared almost 22 percent after the company confirmed a $30 per share takeover bid from a consortium featuring SGH Ltd and US-based Steel Dynamics.

On the economic front, Australia’s services sector maintained its expansion momentum in December, though growth decelerated. The S&P Global services PMI came in at 51.1, down from November’s 52.8, yet still comfortably above the 50 boom-or-bust threshold. In foreign exchange, the Australian dollar traded at $0.672.

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