The ASX looks set for a steadier start after a choppy few sessions. ASX 200 futures were up 23 points (+0.26%) at 8:30am AEDT, pointing to a mild rebound after Friday’s tech-led selloff.
The tone is calm rather than enthusiastic — investors are still cycling out of stretched growth names and into defensives, real assets and anything that generates cash today rather than promises tomorrow.
Wall Street claws back early losses
A volatile session on Friday in the US ended better than it began. Major US indices opened sharply lower, weighed down by another bruising week for mega-cap tech, but sentiment stabilised after signs emerged of progress towards ending the government shutdown.
The S&P 500 closed +0.13%, recovering from an earlier drop of more than 1.3%. The Dow rose +0.16%, while the Nasdaq slipped -0.21%, ending its worst week since April as investors trimmed exposure to crowded AI and chip trade winners.
Underneath the surface, breadth was the strongest it has been in weeks. The equal-weight S&P 500 rose +0.84%, meaning the average stock did far better than the household names at the top of the benchmark. That’s a notable shift — traders are looking beyond the narrow group of tech giants that carried markets this year.
The tech unwind continues to dictate mood:
- Nvidia shed more than 9% for the week after caution over the US-China AI race.
- Meta fell amid allegations it serves billions of scam ads a day.
- Take-Two pushed the Grand Theft Auto VI release to November 2026.
Macro data didn’t help. US consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level since June 2022, while October job cuts hit their highest monthly total since 2009 — reinforcing the idea that consumers are strained and labour markets are cooling. That combination is not recessionary, but it is enough to make investors more defensive heading into year-end.
Elsewhere, Europe and Asia ended the week in the red. Japan, China and Hong Kong all closed lower on Friday, and European indices struggled as reporting season disappointed and tech valuations came under pressure.
ASX on Friday: Defensives in focus as tech bleeds
Friday on the local market looked like a playbook for risk reduction. The S&P/ASX 200 closed down 0.66% at 8,769.7, capping a jittery week where several high-profile names were hit hard. James Hardie, Block, Qantas and Macquarie all faced sharp selling, while defensives such as Coles and Telstra quietly moved higher.
Sector performance showed rotation rather than panic:
- Communication Services +0.72%
- Consumer Staples +0.61%
- Energy +0.51%
At the back end of the pack:
- Information Technology -2.25%
- Financials -1.27%
- Consumer Discretionary -1.05%
The Small Ords dropped 1.06% and the All Tech slid 2.19%, signalling continued pressure on growth names. The AUD finished near US$0.648, steady across the session despite volatility in the USD.
Commodities, currencies and crypto
Gold continued to hover around the symbolic US$4,000/oz level, supported by safe-haven flows, shutdown risk and a softer US dollar late in the session. Oil also firmed, while iron ore slipped on weaker steel demand signals.
- Gold: US$4,000.98 (+0.60%)
- Oil (WTI): US$59.75 (+0.54%)
- Copper: US$4.94/lb (-0.32%)
- Iron ore: US$103.34 (-1.66%)
- AUD/USD: 0.6493 (-0.03%)
- Bitcoin: +2.47% to $104,610
ETF flows continue to funnel into uranium, strategic metals, gold miners and travel/airline exposure — a blend of real-asset hedging and cyclical bets.
What’s on today
Locally, attention turns to the Reserve Bank. At 10:30am AEDT, RBA Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser speaks on the outlook for the Australian economy. With rate-cut expectations finely balanced going into year-end, any signalling on the timing of future moves is likely to influence currency and front-end bond pricing.
On the corporate side, it’s a busy morning with earnings from ANZ and Dyno Nobel, while a cluster of major companies front shareholders at their annual general meetings, including Coles, Goodman Group, TPG Telecom, Cromwell Property Group, Jumbo Interactive and Downer.
Ex-dividends this week include Champion Iron (Tue), ResMed (Wed) and TPG (Fri).