ASX set for tough slog in financial year 2018

Australian equities investors have enjoyed solid gains in the 2016-17 financial year, as the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index has risen 10.8 per cent since July 1, the strongest rise in three years.

Investors in the material sector, as well as those in utilities and healthcare, have the most to crow about. But equity strategists fear that, outside of specific opportunities, local markets are likely to struggle from here.