Monday 1st December 2025
Daily Market Update: 02 December 2025
ASX stumbles amid technical outage and risk-off sentiment
The Australian share market began December on a downbeat note, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) falling 48.9 points or 0.6 per cent to close at 8565.2. A major technical disruption impacted trading, with around 80 companies placed in extended halts due to a three-hour outage in the Australian Securities Exchange’s announcements platform. The sell-off was broad-based, led by declines in defensive sectors including healthcare and consumer staples. CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) and Sigma Healthcare Limited (ASX: SIG) both lost 1.4 per cent, while Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS) plunged 9.2 per cent after reporting underwhelming revenue growth of 0.1 per cent for the half-year.
Banks and insurers drag while miners offer support
Financial stocks were a major drag, notably AUB Group Limited (ASX: AUB) which tumbled 17.8 per cent after ending takeover talks with EQT and CVC. The major banks also weighed down the index, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), National Australia Bank Limited (ASX: NAB), Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX: WBC), and ANZ Group Holdings Limited (ASX: ANZ) all closing lower. Meanwhile, a rotation into commodities provided some offset as iron ore and oil prices rose. Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) gained 0.9 per cent, and miners BHP Group Limited (ASX: BHP), Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG), and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) posted modest gains.
Global markets cautious as rally pauses
Global equity markets opened December with a pullback, ending a five-day winning streak for Wall Street. The S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPX) dropped 0.5 per cent, the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: IXIC) eased 0.3 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DJI) fell 0.8 per cent amid caution ahead of key economic data including the delayed September PCE report and next week’s Federal Reserve decision. Bitcoin extended its decline, falling more than 6 per cent below $US86,000, pressuring crypto-linked names like Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN). AI-related stocks saw profit-taking, with Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) down 4.3 per cent, while Synopsys Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS) surged 4.9 per cent following a reported investment by NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), which also rose 1.7 per cent. Retailers such as Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) and Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) gained as holiday shopping boosted sentiment.
| Australian Indices | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| ASX 200 | -0.6 | 0.5 | -3.2 | -3.2 | 4.7 |
| Financials | -3.4 | -1.0 | -6.5 | -5.8 | 3.7 |
| Resources | 0.6 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 8.7 | 23.2 |
| Information Technology | -1.6 | 0.6 | -9.1 | -14.3 | -8.7 |
| Global Indices | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| US 500 | -0.5 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 6.2 | 12.5 |
| Europe | 0.0 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 4.2 | 24.1 |
| Japan | -0.8 | 1.3 | -0.9 | 6.2 | 18.2 |
| China top 50 | -0.2 | -1.0 | -1.0 | 0.5 | 31.2 |
| India top 50 | -0.9 | -0.9 | 0.7 | 3.8 | -0.7 |
| Fixed Interest | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| Australian Treasury Bond | 0.0 | -0.5 | -1.1 | -0.6 | 3.3 |
| Australian Corporate Bond | 0.1 | -0.5 | -1.0 | -0.4 | 4.1 |
| US Treasury | -0.3 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 4.6 |
| Cash | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 4.1 |
| Commodities & Crypto | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| Gold | 1.2 | 1.1 | 4.3 | 20.5 | 55.3 |
| Silver | 4.9 | 6.1 | 9.9 | 32.7 | 73.2 |
| Crude Oil | 1.6 | -0.5 | -3.7 | -6.8 | -2.2 |
| Bitcoin | -8.1 | -3.6 | -23.3 | -22.5 | -14.7 |
