Sydney, Feb 23, 2026, 16:55 AEDT — After-hours
- Westpac (ASX:WBC) was last down 1.18% at A$42.04 after earlier touching A$43.05. (StockAnalysis)
- Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 ended down about 0.61%. (Investing.com UK)
- Traders are bracing for Australia’s January CPI and an RBA governor appearance later this week. (Perpetual)
Westpac Banking Corp shares slipped on Monday, easing from a session high as investors pared bank exposure into a busy week for domestic data and central bank signals. The stock was last at A$42.04, down about 1.2%, after trading between A$41.86 and A$43.05. (Investing.com)
Why it matters now: the big banks have become a lever on interest-rate expectations again, and the calendar is starting to crowd. Westpac’s economics team has flagged a run of local releases — including the monthly CPI and an RBA governor fireside chat — as key tests for the market’s next rate call. (WestpacIQ)
The global backdrop didn’t help. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down parts of President Donald Trump’s tariff program, and Trump responded with a blanket 15% levy on imports, keeping markets on edge. “This decision is another chip away at Trump’s power,” said Jason Wong, a strategist at BNZ in Wellington. (Reuters)
Australian shares ended lower in the same risk-off drift, with the local market down about 0.6% as investors weighed the tariff headlines and a softer lead from Wall Street futures. (AP News)
Westpac’s pullback comes after a strong February run tied to its quarterly update. In its first-quarter release, the bank said net profit excluding notable items rose 6% to A$1.9 billion, deposits grew A$12 billion and lending rose A$22 billion, while core net interest margin — the gap between what a bank earns on loans and pays on deposits — was 1.79%, down three basis points (0.03 percentage point). “We are optimistic on the outlook for the economy and expect demand for both business and household credit to remain resilient,” CEO Anthony Miller said. (Westpac)
Peers have also fed the bid in the sector through the February reporting stretch. When National Australia Bank updated last week, Citi analysts called it a “very strong headline beat,” while warning its capital position could still hang over the stock. (Reuters)
Westpac has been among the ASX 200 financials clocking fresh 52-week highs in the past week, along with ANZ and NAB, MarketIndex data showed. On that screen, Westpac was up about 36% over the past year through the prior close. (Market Index)
Rate settings sit underneath all of it. The Reserve Bank of Australia lifted rates earlier this month, its first hike in two years, after inflation picked up — a shift that can support bank earnings but also raises the risk of a slower credit cycle if borrowers pull back. (Reuters)
But the easy part may be over. Westpac’s quarterly update highlighted margin pressure from competition, and any renewed jump in inflation could harden expectations for further RBA tightening, which tends to squeeze housing activity and test credit quality at the edges. (Reuters)
Next up, traders will key off Australia’s January CPI on Feb. 25 at 11:30 a.m. AEDT, then parse Governor Michele Bullock’s fireside chat scheduled for 7:40 p.m. AEDT the same day. Westpac’s next set-piece company catalyst is its interim results and dividend decision on May 5. (Australian Bureau of Statistics)
