ASX 200 stocks hitting fresh 52-week highs and lows – Week 32
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.In Week 32, the ASX 200 saw an uptick in stocks hitting 52-week highs and lows, with defensive sectors outperforming. Energy refiners Ampol and Viva Energy reached multi-year highs due to strong refining margins and earnings beats. Conversely, Technology, Materials, and Real Estate sectors faced new lows, led by significant declines in Xero, Pexa Group, and Champion Iron. The broader market remains rangebound, driven largely by company-specific catalysts rather than broad sector trends.
Welcome back to the 52-Week Series, where we recap the S&P/ASX 200 stocks that have hit fresh yearly highs and lows over the past week. Tracking this data point helps identify emerging trends across various stocks and sectors.
When clusters of stocks within a sector reach new highs or lows, it often points to meaningful underlying drivers such as shifting commodity prices, changing demand patterns (such as AI, pivots into defensive sectors, consumer weakness etc), or companies beating/missing earnings expectations.
52-Week highs and lows by sector
- Energy: 2 Highs, 1 Low
- Financials: 2 Highs, 0 Lows
- Real Estate: 1 High, 2 Lows
- Health Care: 1 High, 0 Lows
- Staples: 1 High, 0 Lows
- Materials: 0 Highs, 3 Lows
- Technology: 0 Highs, 1 Low
- Telecommunications: 0 Highs, 1 Low
- Industrials: 0 Highs, 0 Lows
- Discretionary: 0 Highs, 0 Lows
- Utilities: 0 Highs, 0 Lows
What Does the Data Tell Us?
- Uptick in highs and lows: To recap, the 52-week list has remained relatively thin for the past couple of weeks as previously strong trending sectors like materials and energy pull back, while beaten-up names in software, healthcare and discretionary bounce. The broader S&P/ASX 200 has been rangebound almost all year and only pushed to a five-month high last week. The count of highs and lows rose to 16 from 11, still light, with no major trends and mostly company-specific catalysts behind the moves.
- Defensives on the move: Even with a thin list, defensive names are clearly outperforming, from Medibank (insurance) and Ramsay (healthcare) to Woolworths (staples) and Vicinity Centres (real estate).
- Refiners outperform: Oil has been volatile, with Brent up around 20% from its 2 July low but still down 25% since early May. Most energy stocks have tracked that dynamic, rallying hard in recent weeks but sitting 10-15% below earlier highs. Refiners have bucked that trend and trading at fresh multi-year highs. Ampol and Viva Energy both rallied higher after trading updates last week showed 1H26 earnings well above market expectations, driven by refining margins. Crack spreads, the gap between crude and refined product prices, remain elevated despite the oil pullback.
ASX 200 stocks at 52-week highs
| Ticker | Company | Close | Sector | 1 Week | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALD | Ampol | $39.90 | Energy | 3.2% | 47.2% |
| VEA | Viva Energy Group | $2.85 | Energy | 14.0% | 35.7% |
| AMP | AMP | $2.15 | Financials | 1.9% | 31.1% |
| WOW | Woolworths Group | $39.77 | Staples | 1.5% | 25.1% |
| RHC | Ramsay Health Care | $44.34 | Health Care | 4.8% | 17.6% |
| VCX | Vicinity Centres | $2.68 | Real Estate | 1.1% | 8.1% |
| MPL | Medibank Private | $5.17 | Financials | 1.0% | 1.0% |
S&P/ASX 200 stocks and sectors that hit a 52-week high in the past week, sorted by one-year returns. Data as at Friday, 31 July 2026.
ASX 200 stocks at 52-week lows
| Ticker | Company | Close | Sector | 1 Week | 1 Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XRO | Xero | $70.00 | Technology | 13.7% | -60.3% |
| PXA | Pexa Group | $7.42 | Real Estate | 3.2% | -53.9% |
| IPX | Iperionx | $3.05 | Materials | -0.7% | -50.2% |
| TPG | TPG Telecom | $3.58 | Telecommunications | 2.0% | -34.9% |
| CNI | Centuria Capital Group | $1.47 | Real Estate | 0.7% | -22.2% |
| VUL | Vulcan Energy Resources | $2.55 | Materials | -1.5% | -21.3% |
| CIA | Champion Iron | $3.41 | Materials | -12.6% | -17.8% |
| DYL | Deep Yellow | $1.32 | Energy | -1.5% | -14.8% |
S&P/ASX 200 stocks and sectors that hit a 52-week low in the past week, sorted by one-year returns. Data as at Friday, 31 July 2026.