Gold revival drives ASX rebound
The Australian share market snapped its recent losing streak as investors piled back into the materials sector. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose 25.9 points, or 0.3 per cent, to close at 8827.9 on Thursday, marking a turnaround after losses in six of the previous seven sessions. Gold miners were among the standout performers, with Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Limited (ASX: NST) both rising 2.8 per cent, supported by bullion prices nearing US$3980 an ounce. The rally reflected stronger conviction among gold investors following recent volatility.
Mixed day for banks and sectors
Gains in the heavyweight mining sector offset weakness in financials, with major miners defying falling iron ore prices. BHP Group Limited (ASX: BHP) climbed 1.6 per cent, Rio Tinto Group (ASX: RIO) advanced 2.3 per cent, and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) added 2.1 per cent. However, the banking sector dragged, led by a 3.3 per cent fall in National Australia Bank Limited (ASX: NAB) after its full-year cash earnings of $7.09 billion missed expectations. Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX: WBC) slipped 1.2 per cent, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)rose 1.3 per cent. Elsewhere, Light & Wonder Inc (ASX: LNW) jumped 8.2 per cent on a 78 per cent surge in quarterly net income, while James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX) tumbled 12.7 per cent after being removed from the MSCI Australia Index.
Wall Street falls on tech sell-off
Global markets ended lower overnight, with renewed pressure on technology stocks dragging major US indices. The S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPX) fell 1.1 per cent, the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: IXIC) dropped 1.7 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DJI) lost 317 points. AI-linked names were hit hard amid valuation concerns and mixed earnings, with Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ: AMD), Oracle Corporation (NYSE: ORCL) and Palantir Technologies Inc (NYSE: PLTR) all declining. Mega-cap tech stocks such as NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) also slid. Labour market jitters further weighed on sentiment, as Challenger reported 153,000 job cuts in October, the highest for that month in 22 years, mostly linked to AI restructuring and cost efficiency initiatives.
| Australian Indices | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| ASX 200 | 0.3 | -0.5 | -1.6 | 1.0 | 10.8 |
| Financials | 0.2 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 4.6 | 17.7 |
| Resources | 1.4 | -2.9 | -0.9 | 12.1 | 14.2 |
| Information Technology | -1.5 | -3.1 | -9.7 | -9.0 | 7.1 |
| Global Indices | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| US 500 | -1.1 | 0.5 | 2.7 | 7.3 | 18.3 |
| Europe | 0.7 | -0.3 | 0.1 | 4.8 | 24.6 |
| Japan | 1.5 | -0.4 | -0.1 | 7.4 | 22.6 |
| China top 50 | 1.4 | -1.3 | -2.3 | 5.0 | 27.9 |
| India top 50 | -0.1 | 0.4 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 3.0 |
| Fixed Interest | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| Australian Treasury Bond | -0.1 | -0.2 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 6.0 |
| Australian Corporate Bond | 0.1 | -0.2 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 6.6 |
| US Treasury | -0.5 | -0.4 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 4.8 |
| Cash | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 4.2 |
| Commodities & Crypto | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| Gold | 0.1 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 17.5 | 51.0 |
| Silver | 0.7 | -0.4 | -0.2 | 25.8 | 56.7 |
| Crude Oil | -1.1 | -1.6 | -2.5 | -4.5 | -6.1 |
| Bitcoin | 1.7 | -4.1 | -16.3 | -11.3 | 37.7 |