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ASX closes higher, uranium stocks climb
The Australian sharemarket closed higher on Friday with uranium stocks climbing during the first trading day of 2026. The ASX 200 finished at 8,727.80, up 0.2% on the day, as six of the ASX’s 11 sectors rose, led by an 0.8% increase in energy stocks. Uranium producers saw major gains, with Deep Yellow shares rising 6% and Paladin Energy climbing 6.2%. Boss Energy’s shares were also up 6.5%, and Lotus Resources’ grew by 5.7%. Energy sector stocks have risen by 1.6% across the past five days. Shares in gold miner Northern Star dropped 8.2%, after the company cut its annual gold production guidance from 1.7-1.8 million ounces to 1.6-1.7 million ounces. The ASX 200 gained 6.8% across 2025, and the All Ordinaries index rose by 7%. Australian two-year bond yields rose 0.04% to 4.099% today, and 10-year bond yields increased 0.03% to 4.809%. In the U.S., markets closed lower on New Year’s Eve. The S&P 500 fell by 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.8%. All major U.S. indices finished 2025 with at least 13% in annual gains, with the Nasdaq Composite leading at 20.5%.
ASX
Weaker start seen on ASX as trading opens in 2026
Share prices on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) are likely to open lower on Friday as trading resumes for the first time in the new year. The ASX 200 index should begin 0.3% off the previous close, according to ASX futures trading which quoted the March share price index contract 27 points below the previous settlement at 8,680 points. This comes after Wall Street's major indices ended down in the final trading session of 2025 but capped off a roller-coaster year with big gains. The S&P 500 dropped 0.7% to 6,845.50 points on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.8%. But for the full calendar year the increases were 16.4% for the S&P 500, 13% for the Dow and 20.5% for the Nasdaq. “I do not expect that the last few days will have so much bearing on the performance of the next year, it's perfectly fine in any bull market to have moments of cost," Reflexivity Co-founder and President Giuseppe Sette was quoted in a Reuter story as saying. The Australian market had closed a little weaker on Wednesday in a shortened New Year’s Eve session on what was the final full trading day of the year. The S&P/ASX 200 index closed ended down 2.8 points to 8,
ASX
ASX 200 flat on New Year’s Eve; miners and energy lift
The Australian sharemarket finished marginally lower in Wednesday’s shortened New Year’s Eve session, the final full trading day of the year, as gains in mining and energy stocks were largely offset by weakness across the broader market. The S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 2.8 points to 8,714.3, with six of the 11 sectors ending the session in negative territory amid light holiday volumes. Overnight, United States markets were also little changed, providing limited direction for local investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eased 0.2%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite also fell 0.1% in subdued year-end trading. The session also marked Warren Buffett’s final day as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway. On the local market, the materials and energy sectors provided the main support. BHP Group lifted 0.9%, while Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group slipped 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. Champion Iron slipped 0.8% despite confirming that operations are expected to resume within seven to ten days following a derailment on railway tracks in Quebec last week. Gold miners traded higher after spot gold prices stabilised overnight. Northern Star Resources added 1.7%, Evolution Mining lifted 1% a
ASX
ASX 200 to close out 2025 with weaker start
The Australian sharemarket is expected to round out the year with a lower start on Wednesday ahead of a shortened trading session. Futures trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) indicated the benchmark ASX 200 index should begin 0.06% down at 10 am AEDT (11 pm GMT). This is based on the March share price index (SPI) contract, the most heavily traded of the SPI contracts, which last traded six points below the previous settlement at 8,701 points. The index has risen 6.84% so far in 2025, leaving it short of the 7.5% increase in 2024, having fallen over the last five days and delivering lower returns than those on Wall Street. Shares in the United States closed slightly lower on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) in choppy trading as gains in communication services stocks were offset by declines in technology and financial stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.2%, the S&P 500 lost 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite gave up 0.2%. So far this year, the Dow has risen 13.38%, the S&P is up 16.82% and the Nasdaq has gained 20.69%. Large technology stocks like Nvidia and Apple eased for a second successive day after rising for six sessions. "The growth rates are going to converge between technology and ever
ASX
ASX 200 finishes slightly lower as miners drag
The Australian sharemarket eased on Tuesday, reversing early gains and extending losses for a third consecutive session, as a commodities-driven sell-off in mining stocks outweighed strength in energy companies. The S&P/ASX 200 closed just 8.6 points lower at 8,717.1. Despite the modest decline, six of the index’s 11 sectors finished higher. The Australian bourse remains on track for a third consecutive annual gain, even as investors weigh concerns around elevated valuations and the prospect of further interest rate increases. Materials stocks led the declines after the precious metals complex sold off sharply overnight. Major diversified miners were mixed, with Rio Tinto edging up 0.2%, Fortescue adding 0.2% and BHP Group slipping 0.8%. Gold miners came under heavy pressure, with Northern Star down 2%, Evolution Mining falling 3.4%, Newmont shedding 4.1% and St Barbara tumbling 5%. Silver miners also retreated sharply. Unico Silver dropped 3.3%, Andean Silver fell 6.3% and Silver Mines slipped 2.2%. Real estate investment trusts lost ground, with Goodman Group down 1.2%, Charter Hall falling 1.4% and Mirvac easing 0.5%. The energy sector bucked the broader trend after crude oil prices jumped more than 2% o

ASX
ASX 200 readies for another lower start
The weak end to 2025 on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is set to continue on Tuesday, with the benchmark index expected to open a shade lower. The ASX 200 should start trading 0.07% down at 10 am AEDT (11 pm GMT Monday), according to futures trading, which quoted the March share price index contract six points below the previous settlement at 8,711 points. The direction was set on Wall Street, where the main indices ended weaker on Monday (Tuesday AEDT) as large technology stocks gave back some of last week's gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.5% at the start of the last trading week of the year. Most tech and artificial-intelligence-related stocks fell with Nvidia dropping 1.2% and Palantir Technologies 2.4%. "This is (not) the beginning of the end of the tech dominance, it'll turn out to be a buying opportunity," Haverford Trust Director and Head of Investment Strategy Hank Smith was quoted by Reuters as saying in this story. "A big reason for that is the top tech names, excluding Tesla, do not have challenging valuations given their growth rate, the moat around their business and their financial strength, which is unparalleled."
ASX
ASX 200 slips as tech stocks lead declines
The Australian sharemarket ticked lower on Monday, with technology stocks leading losses amid broad weakness at the start of the final trading week of the year. The S&P/ASX 200 finished 37.0 points or 0.4% lower at 8,725.7, after rising 1.6% last week. 10 of the 11 sectors finished in the red. However, the benchmark is on track for an annual gain of about 6.9%, marking its third consecutive yearly increase, though it continues to lag many global peers that are set to post double-digit gains. Technology stocks weighed on the index. Wisetech Global lost 1%, Xero slipped 0.2%, and TechnologyOne declined 2.7%, alongside data centre operator NextDC, which fell 2.1%. Energy stocks slipped after crude oil prices declined late last week. Santos lost 1.5%, Beach Energy fell 1.3% and Viva Energy moved 1.9% lower, and Woodside Energy lost 0.4% despite announcing it had signed a supply agreement with Turkish state-owned petroleum company BOTAS to deliver around 5.8 billion cubic metres of liquefied natural gas for up to nine years from 2030. Mining stocks had a volatile session, initially leading the market before trimming gains in line with movements in commodity prices. Rio Tinto slipped 0.5%, BHP dipped 0.4%, and Fortescu
ASX
ASX futures herald weak start to last week of 2025
Australian shares are expected to open slightly down on Monday morning as trading resumes on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) after the Christmas Day and Boxing Day public holidays in the last week of 2025. The benchmark ASX 200 index is expected to fall 0.17% when trading begins at 10 am AEDT (11 pm GMT Sunday), according to futures trading, which quoted the March share price index contract 15 points below the previous settlement at 8,765 points. This was after Wall Street ended nearly flat on Friday (Saturday AEDT) with all three major stock indices ending down a little and in doing so snapping a five-session rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.04%, the S&P 500 lost 0.03% and the Nasdaq Composite edged down by 0.1%. However, they rose over the week, and the S&P 500 briefly touched a new high. "We had a very strong five-day rally, so in a way we're just simply catching our breath today after the holiday," Carson Group Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick was quoted as telling Reuters in this story. "This is only day two of the official Santa Claus rally period, so we still have some time, and we think there's going to be a little more upward bias going forward." The Australian sharemarke
ASX
ASX 200 ends Christmas Eve session 0.4% lower
The Australian sharemarket closed lower on Wednesday to end a shortened trading week, despite a record S&P 500 close on Wall Street. The ASX 200 was down 0.4% for an early Christmas Eve finish at 8,762.7. The sharemarket will be closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. For the holiday-shortened week, the index gained 1.6%. All sectors except materials finished lower, with health care posting the largest decrease. Materials shares were supported by continued record-breaking gold prices, with Northern Star stock up 1%. Monash IVF stock lost 13.4% today after a consortium led by Genesis Capital and Soul Patts withdrew its A$312 million bid to buy the company. Neither Monash IVF nor the consortium have disclosed why the offer was withdrawn. Shares in Monash IVF are down 43.3% across 2025 to date, having plummeted in April and June after reports of two separate embryo mix-up incidents at its fertility clinics. Meanwhile, Lendlease gained 4.8% after saying on Tuesday evening that it would develop a new $2.2 billion commercial tower over Sydney Metro’s under-construction Hunter Street station. The tower will be complete in 2032, Lendlease said. In the United States, the S&P 500 closed at a record high of 6,909.79, sup