ASX today, ASX futures down 0.2%, Nasdaq falls 2.60%

4 minutes ago

6 min read

Samso Market Update | Friday, 23 October 2026 | Pre-market 9:45am AEDT

On the ASX today, ASX 200 futures were down 0.2% at 8,803 points at about 6:45am AEDT, according to the ABC News market snapshot. A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell at a set price on a later date, and its price is used as a guide to where the index will open. This morning that points to a slightly lower open. The 0.2% is the change in the futures price, a separate measure from Thursday's index close of 8,793.2, which is why the futures price can sit above the index and still be down. The ABC said "The ASX is set to fall after US tech stocks tumbled, led by Meta". The Australian dollar was buying 70.21 US cents at 7:45am AEDT (Yahoo Finance data).

The S&P/ASX 200 closed on Thursday at 8,793.2, down 38.1 points or 0.43%. The All Ordinaries, which tracks the 500 largest listed companies, fell 0.44% to 8,917.1. The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries, an index of the companies ranked 101 to 300 by size, fell 0.49% to 3,138.4. Thursday's editions are at ASX today, Thursday 22 October 2026, and Wednesday's are at ASX today, Wednesday 21 October 2026.

ASX today: Key Highlights

ASX 200 futures were down 0.2% at 8,803 at about 6:45am AEDT (ABC News).
The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.60% on Thursday and the S&P 500 fell 1.21%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed, up 0.02%, and the Russell 2000 of smaller companies rose 0.11%.
Meta Platforms fell 6.98% on Thursday, the day after its quarterly result. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 6.72%.
December Brent crude futures were at US$112.79 a barrel at 7:36am AEDT, up 3.65%. Reuters said Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia lifted oil to a five-month high.
December gold futures were down 2.69% at US$4,038.20 an ounce at 7:36am AEDT. The US 10-year Treasury yield was approximately 19 basis points lower at approximately 4.95% at about 3pm New York time on Thursday.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed down 2.65% on Thursday.

Wall Street overnight

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 fell on Thursday and the Dow was little changed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11.89 points or 0.02% to 52,867.98. The S&P 500 fell 93.74 points or 1.21% to 7,663.43. The Nasdaq Composite fell 694.00 points or 2.60% to 26,008.86. The Russell 2000, an index of smaller US companies, rose 0.11% to 2,784.03 (Yahoo Finance data).

Reuters said the Nasdaq posted its steepest daily drop since June "as a batch of high-profile earnings reports ignited fresh fears about the AI spending race". Meta Platforms reported its quarterly result after the US close on Wednesday, and its shares closed down 6.98% at US$648.85 on Thursday. Reuters said Meta's results beat analyst expectations. It said Meta also posted its first cash outflow in more than a decade because of its AI spending. Reuters said Meta announced plans to issue non-voting shares in a two-for-one split to raise capital for that spending.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which tracks chipmakers, fell 6.72% to 10,731.98, and Nvidia fell 4.40% (Yahoo Finance data). Tesla fell 3.08%. Reuters said Tesla fell even though it unexpectedly posted positive free cash flow in the quarter and cut its 2026 capital spending plans. Reuters said Procter & Gamble rose and supported consumer staples shares.

The US 10-year Treasury yield fell approximately 19 basis points from Wednesday to approximately 4.95% at about 3pm New York time on Thursday (Yahoo Finance data). Yahoo Finance said investors "flocked to bonds, sending Treasury yields lower as concerns over the AI trade sent tech investors headed for the exit". It said the 10-year yield was on track for its biggest one-day drop in more than two years. A Treasury is a US government bond, and its yield is the yearly return from buying it at today's price and holding it until it is repaid. When yields fall, bond prices rise. A basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point.

US initial jobless claims fell to 194,000 last week, the fewest in three months, Yahoo Finance reported. Reuters said financial markets "are currently pricing in the probability that the central bank will raise its policy rate by another 25 basis points before year-end". The US Federal Reserve's next policy meeting is on 27 and 28 October (Federal Reserve calendar).

Japan and Asia

The Nikkei 225 closed on Thursday at 62,907.84, down 1,713.40 points or 2.65% (Yahoo Finance data). The yen strengthened. The US dollar was buying 156.81 yen at 7:47am AEDT, down from 158.13 yen at 7:51am AEDT on Thursday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell approximately 3.0% on Thursday, and the Shanghai Composite fell 1.48% to 3,658.03.

London and Europe

London's FTSE 100 closed on Thursday at 10,725.03, down 27.87 points or 0.26% (Yahoo Finance data). Germany's DAX fell 1.07% to 25,371.75. France's CAC 40 fell 1.39% to 7,811.26.

Currencies

The Australian dollar was buying 70.21 US cents at 7:45am AEDT (Yahoo Finance data), little changed from 70.18 cents at 4:33pm AEDT on Thursday in Samso's market close edition. The US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against six major currencies, was at 101.66 at 7:36am AEDT, little changed from Wednesday's close of 101.78. At 7:46am AEDT the euro was at US$1.122 and the British pound at US$1.340.

Commodities

December Brent crude futures were at US$112.79 a barrel at 7:36am AEDT, up 3.65% from Wednesday's close for that contract (Yahoo Finance data). December is the front-month contract, the one closest to expiry. Reuters said oil prices climbed to a five-month high "after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked concerns of further disruption to energy supplies from the key exporting region". It said Saudi Aramco told staff to evacuate its headquarters in Dhahran. Yahoo Finance said Brent was also lifted by a New York Times report that the US and Israel are preparing renewed attacks on Iran after the US midterm elections.

December West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the US oil benchmark, were at US$99.04 a barrel at 7:37am AEDT, up 1.95% (Yahoo Finance data).

December gold futures were at US$4,038.20 an ounce at 7:36am AEDT, down 2.69% from Wednesday's close for that contract. At the same time, December silver futures were down 5.36% at US$54.62 an ounce and December copper futures were down 2.73% at US$6.400 a pound (Yahoo Finance data).

Iron ore was at US$90.10 a tonne at about 6:45am AEDT, down 1%, according to the ABC News market snapshot.

Today's diary

All times AEDT.

8:14am. Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) said in its September quarter report that FY27 guidance is maintained across all divisions. It said Onslow Iron shipped 9.2 million tonnes on a 100% basis, and net debt fell A$0.2 billion to approximately A$4.1 billion. Its conference call is at 11:00am AEDT, 8:00am in Perth.
8:16am. Ora Banda Mining (ASX: OBM) reported September quarter gold sales of 33,939 ounces, including attributable ounces from third-party processing, at an all-in sustaining cost of A$4,214 an ounce. All-in sustaining cost is an industry measure of the cost of producing gold and keeping existing mines running. It leaves out growth spending, exploration for new projects, tax and interest. Ora Banda said unit costs were elevated by an extended mill shutdown and weather, and it maintained its FY27 guidance.
8:19am. Temple & Webster Group (ASX: TPW) said in its annual meeting addresses that revenue from 1 July to 19 October was down 8% on a year earlier, and contribution margin dollars were up 16%. It said it remains on track for FY27 EBITDA of A$33 million to A$40 million. Its shares fell 8.95% on Thursday.
8:21am. Newmont (ASX: NEM) reported third-quarter attributable gold production of 1.3 million ounces at a gold by-product all-in sustaining cost of US$1,454 an ounce. It said it is on track for its full-year production guidance of 5.3 million attributable ounces.
8:22am. Zip Co (ASX: ZIP) reported first-quarter total transaction volume of A$4.6 billion, up 18.0% on a year earlier. Its cash EBTDA, a measure of earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation, was A$65.0 million, up 3.4%, and included A$10.1 million of costs from an external fraud event in the US. Zip reconfirmed its FY27 guidance for group cash EBTDA of A$340 million.
8:23am. Alkane Resources (ASX: ALK) reported September quarter gold equivalent production of 40,740 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost of A$2,805 a gold equivalent ounce. Its FY27 guidance is 163,000 to 177,000 gold equivalent ounces.
10:30am. Japan's consumer price inflation for September, at 8:30am Tokyo time (Finance Calendar).
11:30am. The Australian Bureau of Statistics releases Australian National Accounts: Supply Use Tables for 2024-25 and the Australian System of National Accounts for 2025-26 (ABS release calendar).
Later today and overnight (Newsquawk gives no times). Global flash purchasing managers' indexes for October, which are early surveys of business activity, and UK retail sales for September (Newsquawk calendar).

Samso Concluding Comments

Reuters linked the fall on Wall Street to a batch of high-profile earnings reports that it said revived fears about AI spending, with chipmakers dragging the Nasdaq down. The ABC linked this morning's lower futures to the fall in US technology shares, led by Meta. Reuters linked the rise in oil to Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia. Today, investors will watch how technology and data centre shares, energy shares and gold miners trade after those moves, and the quarterly reports lodged this morning by Mineral Resources, Newmont, Ora Banda, Alkane and Zip.

General information only. This is not financial advice.