ASX today, ASX 200 up 0.18%, Coles down 7.67%

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Updated: 55 minutes ago

Samso Market Update | Friday, 30 October 2026 | Market close 4:30pm AEDT

On the ASX today, the S&P/ASX 200 closed up 16.3 points, or 0.18%, at 8,908.1 (Yahoo Finance data). Coles Group (ASX: COL) fell 7.67% on the day of its first quarter sales update, while consumer discretionary, the sector that includes retailers such as JB Hi-Fi and Wesfarmers, was the strongest of the 11 sectors, up 2.73%. The All Ordinaries, which tracks the 500 largest listed companies, rose 0.14% to 9,025.4. The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries, an index of the companies ranked 101 to 300 by size, fell 0.74% to 3,147.9. Over the week the ASX 200 rose 1.28%, from 8,795.2 at the close on Friday 23 October. This morning's pre-market edition is below. Thursday's editions are at ASX today, Thursday 29 October 2026, and Wednesday's are at ASX today, Wednesday 28 October 2026.

ASX today, key highlights

The ASX 200 today closed up 0.18% at 8,908.1, and rose 1.28% over the week.
Consumer discretionary rose 2.73% and industrials 1.14%. Information technology fell 1.34%, consumer staples 0.97% and materials 0.87%.
Coles fell 7.67% to A$21.66 on turnover of A$320.0 million, the third-highest on the ASX today. It reported first quarter Supermarkets comparable sales growth of 2.7%.
Catalyst Metals (ASX: CYL) fell 24.76% on the day it cut its FY27 production guidance. 4DMedical (ASX: 4DX) fell 25.61%, with no ASX announcement during trading.
Of the 1,481 companies with a market value on the ASX that traded today, 475 rose, 658 fell and 348 were unchanged.

Coles, retailers and the sectors

Coles fell 7.67% to A$21.66 on the day of its first quarter sales update for the 13 weeks to 27 September. Supermarkets sales revenue rose 3.6% to A$10.3 billion. Comparable sales growth, which counts only stores open in both periods, was 2.7%, against 4.6% a year earlier. Chief executive Leah Weckert said "household budgets are under pressure and customers are shopping more deliberately across retailers and channels". At 12:37pm AEDT the ABC quoted RBC analyst Michael Toner, who called it a "disappointing update". Woolworths Group (ASX: WOW) rose 1.87% to A$40.22, with no ASX announcement since Thursday's close. Endeavour Group (ASX: EDV), which owns Dan Murphy's and BWS, rose 4.31% to A$3.39 on the day it said first quarter group sales rose 2.8% to A$3,178 million.

Consumer discretionary shares rose. JB Hi-Fi (ASX: JBH) gained 6.21% to A$72.88 and Wesfarmers (ASX: WES) 3.61% to A$76.69. Both fell on Thursday, JB Hi-Fi by 2.89% on the day of its sales update and Wesfarmers by 4.04% on the day of its annual meeting. JB Hi-Fi made no ASX announcement since Thursday's close. Wesfarmers lodged only a director's interest notice during trading today. Lovisa Holdings (ASX: LOV) rose 4.26% to A$26.20, with no ASX announcement since Thursday's close.

Information technology was the weakest sector, down 1.34%. Xero (ASX: XRO) fell 2.39% to A$62.10, with no ASX announcement since Thursday's close. At 9:45am AEDT the ABC quoted NAB's Gavin Friend, who pointed to a "fresh wave of anxiety over AI" after the September quarter results from Alphabet, the parent company of Google, whose shares fell 12.64% in New York on Thursday.

Energy rose 0.97%. Woodside Energy Group (ASX: WDS) gained 1.80% to A$33.33, the day after it announced a 20-year agreement to supply liquefied natural gas to QatarEnergy, and Santos (ASX: STO) rose 1.31% to A$9.25. Materials fell 0.87%. BHP Group (ASX: BHP) was little changed at A$57.56 and was the most traded stock by value, with turnover, the dollar value of shares traded, of A$473.1 million. Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) fell 1.59% and Fortescue (ASX: FMG) 2.19%. Lithium and rare earths shares fell, including Liontown (ASX: LTR), down 7.46%, Lynas Rare Earths (ASX: LYC), down 7.14%, PLS Group (ASX: PLS), down 4.00%, and IGO (ASX: IGO), down 5.14%. Liontown, Lynas and IGO made no ASX announcement since Thursday's close, and PLS lodged only substantial holding notices.

Financials rose 0.14%. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) gained 0.20%, while Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX: WBC) fell 1.05%. At 10:17am AEDT the ABC said markets priced an 85.6% chance of a 0.25 percentage point rise in the cash rate at the Reserve Bank's meeting next Tuesday, 3 November.

The day's data and Asia

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released its Producer Price Indexes for the September quarter at 11:30am AEDT. Final demand producer prices rose 1.1% in the quarter, after a 1.3% rise in the June quarter, and 3.6% over the year, Trading Economics reported, citing the ABS. Producer prices measure what businesses are paid for the goods and services they sell, before they reach consumers.

The Bank of Japan held its policy rate at 1.25%, the ABC reported at 2:33pm. Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 2.23% at 63,217.07 at 4:19pm AEDT, with Tokyo still trading. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 1.73% at 23,355.81 at the same time (Yahoo Finance data).

Blue Chips (above A$1 billion)

Samso's four size bands, with the ASX top gainers and top losers in each, use market value at Thursday's close. They are not the S&P/ASX indices of the same names. Turnover for every mover is in Table 01, below the Micro Caps section.

Gainers. Reece (ASX: REH) rose 8.44% to A$17.09 on the day of its first quarter trading update. Sales revenue was A$2,510 million, up 4.3% on a year earlier and 8.7% in constant currency, with Australia and New Zealand sales up 12.8% and US sales up 5.6%. Chairman and chief executive Peter Wilson said the company remains "cautious on the second half of FY27".

JB Hi-Fi rose 6.21% (see above). James Hardie Industries (ASX: JHX) rose 4.34% to A$38.46, Lovisa Holdings 4.26% and Treasury Wine Estates (ASX: TWE) 4.05% to A$6.17, each with no ASX announcement since Thursday's close. Endeavour Group rose 4.31% (see above).

Fallers. 4DMedical fell 25.61% to A$2.44, from A$3.28, on turnover of A$45.1 million. It made no ASX announcement during trading. A director's interest notice and an application for quotation of securities followed at 4:20pm and 4:21pm AEDT, after the close.

Catalyst Metals fell 24.76% to A$3.92 on the day of its September quarter report. It set FY27 guidance of 90,000 to 105,000 ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of A$3,600 to A$4,100 an ounce. AISC is the miner's measure of what it costs to produce an ounce, including the spending needed to keep the mine running. Its September 2025 guidance had suggested 130,000 to 150,000 ounces in FY27. The company said production from Trident and Old Highway was deferred to FY28, and that its long-term target of about 200,000 ounces a year was unchanged. It sold 27,229 ounces in the quarter at an AISC of A$3,512 an ounce.

Kingsgate Consolidated (ASX: KCN) fell 12.70% to A$3.85 on the day of its September quarter report. Its Chatree mine in Thailand produced 14,802 ounces of gold and 187,925 ounces of silver, at an AISC before royalties of US$1,547 an ounce sold. Managing director Jamie Gibson referred to "a slower than anticipated start to FY27" and the company cited a Plant 1 processing interruption and significant rainfall.

Sunrise Energy Metals (ASX: SRL) fell 11.61% to A$11.80, with no ASX announcement since Thursday's close. Coles fell 7.67% (see above). Liontown fell 7.46% to A$0.62 and Lynas Rare Earths 7.14% to A$12.10, each with no ASX announcement since Thursday's close. On Thursday Liontown fell 4.96% and Lynas rose 4.16%, each on the day of its quarterly report.

Mid Caps (A$500 million to A$1 billion)

Gainers. The Star Entertainment Group (ASX: SGR) rose 10.71% to A$0.155, from A$0.14. Its only announcement was a cleansing notice lodged at 4:07pm on Thursday. It rose 7.69% on Thursday after resuming trading. BMC Minerals (ASX: BMC) rose 5.76% to A$2.57 on the day it reported a drill hole at Rhyolite Peak in Yukon, Canada, of 4.6 metres at 118 grams a tonne silver and 5.2% zinc.

Turaco Gold (ASX: TCG) rose 4.79% to A$0.765. Its only announcement was an application for quotation of securities. Civmec (ASX: CVL) rose 4.29% to A$1.70 on the day it reported first quarter revenue of A$324 million, up about 70% on a year earlier, and net profit after tax of A$18.4 million. Focus Minerals (ASX: FML) rose 4.00% to A$1.82 on the day of its September quarter report, which showed 30,011 ounces of gold sold at an average A$5,988.89 an ounce.

Fallers. Elsight (ASX: ELS) fell 21.30% to A$1.81 on turnover of A$12.8 million, with no ASX announcement since Thursday's close. It fell 18.44% on Thursday. Its September quarter report, lodged on Wednesday evening, said results were below management's expectations.

Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX: VUL) fell 12.55% to A$1.15 on the day of its September quarter report, in which it said drilling and construction at its Lionheart lithium project in Germany were on schedule and within budget. IperionX (ASX: IPX) fell 12.24% to A$2.15. On Thursday, the day of its quarterly report, it rose 16.67%. Its only announcement since was a notice of an investor webinar.

WA1 Resources (ASX: WA1) fell 9.03% to A$8.36, Deep Yellow (ASX: DYL) 8.92% to A$0.715 and Weebit Nano (ASX: WBT) 8.14% to A$2.37, each with no ASX announcement since Thursday's close.

ASX Small Caps (A$150 million to A$500 million)

Gainers. Count (ASX: CUP) rose 23.51% to A$1.655 on the day it agreed to buy 30% of Apiary, a Brisbane accounting and financial planning firm, and reported unaudited first quarter revenue of A$52.1 million, up 23.2% on a year earlier. Omega Oil & Gas (ASX: OMA) rose 9.93% to A$0.83. Its only announcement was the results of its annual general meeting, lodged at 5:19pm on Thursday.

Centaurus Metals (ASX: CTM) rose 7.58% to A$0.355 on the day of its September quarter report, which said it expected to finalise debt funding for its Jaguar nickel project in Brazil in the December quarter. It fell 8.33% on Thursday. Tivan (ASX: TVN) rose 6.90% to A$0.155. Its only announcement was a presentation lodged on Thursday afternoon. Korvest (ASX: KOV) rose 5.09% to A$15.70 on the day of its annual meeting.

Fallers. Appen (ASX: APX) fell 21.27% to A$1.055 on turnover of A$11.4 million, with no ASX announcement since Thursday's close. It rose 5.10% on Thursday, the day of its quarterly report.

Cyprium Metals (ASX: CYM) fell 17.81% to A$0.30 on the day it announced an A$21 million placement at A$0.33 a share, a 9.6% discount to its 28 October close, as part of a funding plan of up to A$83 million for its Nifty copper project. American Rare Earths (ASX: ARR) fell 15.00% to A$0.255, with no ASX announcement during trading. Titomic (ASX: TTT) fell 14.29% to A$0.09, with no ASX announcement since Thursday's close. Astron (ASX: ATR) fell 12.41% to A$0.60 on turnover of A$76,000, on the day of its September quarter report. BrainChip Holdings (ASX: BRN) fell 8.70% to A$0.105 on the day of its quarterly report.

Micro Caps (below A$150 million)

Shares priced below one cent are left out.

Gainers. Linq Minerals (ASX: LNQ) rose 20.65% to A$0.555 on turnover of A$1.1 million, with no ASX announcement since Thursday's close. BOA Resources (ASX: BOA) rose 20.00% to A$0.12 on the day of its quarterly report. Argent Minerals (ASX: ARD) rose 17.65% to A$0.02, from A$0.017. Its quarterly report came at 4:24pm AEDT, after the close. Southern Hemisphere Mining (ASX: SUH) rose 17.24% to A$0.034, with no ASX announcement since Thursday's close.

Recce Pharmaceuticals (ASX: RCE) rose 9.09% to A$0.36 on turnover of A$3.7 million, on the day of its quarterly report. Janus Electric Holdings (ASX: JNS) rose 9.09% to A$0.48 on the day it lodged a cleansing prospectus and a proposed issue of securities. It fell 20.72% on Thursday.

Fallers. DXN (ASX: DXN) fell 47.17% to A$0.14, from A$0.265, on turnover of A$8.7 million, on the day of its quarterly report. The modular data centre maker said its first AI computing customer, a US-listed company, intends to cancel an A$8.8 million contract after a strategic shift in its business. The cancellation is not yet final. DXN reported quarterly revenue of about A$3.4 million and a backlog, the value of work contracted but not yet delivered, of about A$30.8 million.

Decidr AI Industries (ASX: DAI) fell 26.32% to A$0.21 on the day of its quarterly report. It said annualised exit-rate revenue was A$8.9 million at 30 September, down from A$13.6 million at 30 June, and gave reasons including enterprise invoicing moving into the December quarter. Rapid Critical Metals (ASX: RCM) fell 18.37% to A$0.02 on the day of its quarterly report. Botanix Pharmaceuticals (ASX: BOT) fell 16.67% to A$0.01, with no ASX announcement since Thursday's close. Eden Innovations (ASX: EDE) fell 16.18% to A$0.057 on the day of its quarterly report. It rose 19.30% on Thursday. Strickland Metals (ASX: STK) fell 15.91% to A$0.037 on the day of its quarterly report. Falcon Metals (ASX: FAL) fell 15.66% to A$0.35 on turnover of A$1.2 million, with no ASX announcement since Thursday's close.

Table 01, ASX biggest movers by Samso size band, Friday 30 October 2026. Blue chips (above A$1bn): REH Reece, close A$17.09, +8.44%, market cap at Thursday close A$9.7bn, turnover A$22.9m, announcement: Q1 FY27 trading update. Blue chips (above A$1bn): JBH JB Hi-Fi, close A$72.88, +6.21%, market cap at Thursday close A$7.5bn, turnover A$57.7m, announcement: None since Thursday's close. Blue chips (above A$1bn): JHX James Hardie Industries, close A$38.46, +4.34%, market cap at Thursday close A$21.4bn, turnover A$70.5m, announcement: None since Thursday's close. Blue chips (above A$1bn): EDV Endeavour Group, close A$3.39, +4.31%, market cap at Thursday close A$5.8bn, turnover A$29.8m, announcement: F27 AGM trading update. Blue chips (above A$1bn): LOV Lovisa Holdings, close A$26.20, +4.26%, market cap at Thursday close A$2.8bn, turnover A$6.6m, announcement: None since Thursday's close. Blue chips (above A$1bn): TWE Treasury Wine Estates, close A$6.17, +4.05%, market cap at Thursday close A$4.8bn, turnover A$71.7m, announcement: None since Thursday's close. Blue chips (above A$1bn): 4DX 4DMedical, close A$2.44, -25.61%, market cap at Thursday close A$2.0bn, turnover A$45.1m, announcement: None in trading (notices 4:20pm). Blue chips (above A$1bn): CYL Catalyst Metals, close A$3.92, -24.76%, market cap at Thursday close A$1.4bn, turnover A$28.7m, announcement: September quarter report, FY27 guidance. Blue chips (above A$1bn): KCN Kingsgate Consolidated, close A$3.85, -12.70%, market cap at Thursday close A$1.2bn, turnover A$8.5m, announcement: September quarter report. Blue chips (above A$1bn): SRL Sunrise Energy Metals, close A$11.80, -11.61%, market cap at Thursday close A$2.3bn, turnover A$10.5m, announcement: None since Thursday's close. Blue chips (above A$1bn): COL Coles Group, close A$21.66, -7.67%, market cap at Thursday close A$31.5bn, turnover A$320.0m, announcement: First quarter sales results. Blue chips (above A$1bn): LTR Liontown, close A$0.62, -7.46%, market cap at Thursday close A$2.1bn, turnover A$32.2m, announcement: None since Thursday's close. Blue chips (above A$1bn): LYC Lynas Rare Earths, close A$12.10, -7.14%, market cap at Thursday close A$13.1bn, turnover A$106.4m, announcement: None since Thursday's close. Mid caps (A$500m to A$1bn): SGR The Star Entertainment Group, close A$0.155, +10.71%, market cap at Thursday close A$929m, turnover A$3.2m, announcement: Cleansing notice (Thu 4:07pm). Mid caps (A$500m to A$1bn): BMC BMC Minerals, close A$2.57, +5.76%, market cap at Thursday close A$667m, turnover A$113k, announcement: Rhyolite Peak exploration update. Mid caps (A$500m to A$1bn): TCG Turaco Gold, close A$0.765, +4.79%, market cap at Thursday close A$789m, turnover A$2.7m, announcement: Application for quotation. Mid caps (A$500m to A$1bn): CVL Civmec, close A$1.70, +4.29%, market cap at Thursday close A$832m, turnover A$658k, announcement: Q1 revenue A$324m. Mid caps (A$500m to A$1bn): FML Focus Minerals, close A$1.82, +4.00%, market cap at Thursday close A$501m, turnover A$782k, announcement: Quarterly report. Mid caps (A$500m to A$1bn): ELS Elsight, close A$1.81, -21.30%, market cap at Thursday close A$520m, turnover A$12.8m, announcement: None since Thursday's close. Mid caps (A$500m to A$1bn): VUL Vulcan Energy Resources, close A$1.15, -12.55%, market cap at Thursday close A$629m, turnover A$7.9m, announcement: Quarterly report. Mid caps (A$500m to A$1bn): IPX IperionX, close A$2.15, -12.24%, market cap at Thursday close A$887m, turnover A$5.9m, announcement: Investor webinar notice (Thu). Mid caps (A$500m to A$1bn): WA1 WA1 Resources, close A$8.36, -9.03%, market cap at Thursday close A$683m, turnover A$2.5m, announcement: None since Thursday's close. Mid caps (A$500m to A$1bn): DYL Deep Yellow, close A$0.715, -8.92%, market cap at Thursday close A$765m, turnover A$5.7m, announcement: None since Thursday's close. Mid caps (A$500m to A$1bn): WBT Weebit Nano, close A$2.37, -8.14%, market cap at Thursday close A$626m, turnover A$2.6m, announcement: None since Thursday's close. Small caps (A$150m to A$500m): CUP Count, close A$1.655, +23.51%, market cap at Thursday close A$290m, turnover A$1.7m, announcement: Apiary stake, Q1 trading update. Small caps (A$150m to A$500m): OMA Omega Oil & Gas, close A$0.83, +9.93%, market cap at Thursday close A$410m, turnover A$1.4m, announcement: Results of meeting (Thu). Small caps (A$150m to A$500m): CTM Centaurus Metals, close A$0.355, +7.58%, market cap at Thursday close A$190m, turnover A$677k, announcement: Quarterly report. Small caps (A$150m to A$500m): TVN Tivan, close A$0.155, +6.90%, market cap at Thursday close A$340m, turnover A$560k, announcement: Presentation (Thu). Small caps (A$150m to A$500m): KOV Korvest, close A$15.70, +5.09%, market cap at Thursday close A$178m, turnover A$425k, announcement: AGM. Small caps (A$150m to A$500m): APX Appen, close A$1.055, -21.27%, market cap at Thursday close A$360m, turnover A$11.4m, announcement: None since Thursday's close. Small caps (A$150m to A$500m): CYM Cyprium Metals, close A$0.30, -17.81%, market cap at Thursday close A$211m, turnover A$483k, announcement: A$21m placement, funding plan. Small caps (A$150m to A$500m): ARR American Rare Earths, close A$0.255, -15.00%, market cap at Thursday close A$175m, turnover A$248k, announcement: None in trading (AGM notice 4:18pm). Small caps (A$150m to A$500m): TTT Titomic, close A$0.09, -14.29%, market cap at Thursday close A$188m, turnover A$460k, announcement: None since Thursday's close. Small caps (A$150m to A$500m): ATR Astron, close A$0.60, -12.41%, market cap at Thursday close A$295m, turnover A$76k, announcement: Quarterly report. Small caps (A$150m to A$500m): BRN BrainChip Holdings, close A$0.105, -8.70%, market cap at Thursday close A$262m, turnover A$144k, announcement: Quarterly report. Micro caps (below A$150m): LNQ Linq Minerals, close A$0.555, +20.65%, market cap at Thursday close A$94m, turnover A$1.1m, announcement: None since Thursday's close. Micro caps (below A$150m): BOA BOA Resources, close A$0.12, +20.00%, market cap at Thursday close A$51m, turnover A$128k, announcement: Quarterly report. Micro caps (below A$150m): ARD Argent Minerals, close A$0.02, +17.65%, market cap at Thursday close A$29m, turnover A$117k, announcement: None in trading (quarterly 4:24pm). Micro caps (below A$150m): SUH Southern Hemisphere Mining, close A$0.034, +17.24%, market cap at Thursday close A$21m, turnover A$81k, announcement: None since Thursday's close. Micro caps (below A$150m): RCE Recce Pharmaceuticals, close A$0.36, +9.09%, market cap at Thursday close A$101m, turnover A$3.7m, announcement: Quarterly report. Micro caps (below A$150m): JNS Janus Electric Holdings, close A$0.48, +9.09%, market cap at Thursday close A$81m, turnover A$1.2m, announcement: Cleansing prospectus, issue of securities. Micro caps (below A$150m): DXN DXN, close A$0.14, -47.17%, market cap at Thursday close A$100m, turnover A$8.7m, announcement: Quarterly report. Micro caps (below A$150m): DAI Decidr AI Industries, close A$0.21, -26.32%, market cap at Thursday close A$101m, turnover A$385k, announcement: Quarterly report. Micro caps (below A$150m): RCM Rapid Critical Metals, close A$0.02, -18.37%, market cap at Thursday close A$29m, turnover A$141k, announcement: Quarterly report. Micro caps (below A$150m): BOT Botanix Pharmaceuticals, close A$0.01, -16.67%, market cap at Thursday close A$33m, turnover A$241k, announcement: None since Thursday's close. Micro caps (below A$150m): EDE Eden Innovations, close A$0.057, -16.18%, market cap at Thursday close A$43m, turnover A$99k, announcement: Quarterly report. Micro caps (below A$150m): STK Strickland Metals, close A$0.037, -15.91%, market cap at Thursday close A$116m, turnover A$204k, announcement: Quarterly report. Micro caps (below A$150m): FAL Falcon Metals, close A$0.35, -15.66%, market cap at Thursday close A$110m, turnover A$1.2m, announcement: None since Thursday's close. TABLE 01. Selected ASX biggest movers today by Samso size band, Friday 30 October 2026. Not every top mover is shown. Shares below one cent are left out. Samso size bands use market capitalisation at Thursday's close (shares on issue times previous close, ASX). Only stocks with turnover of at least A$50,000 are included. Closing prices after the closing auction. Announcements are those lodged since 4:00pm AEDT Thursday. Source: ASX data, delayed 20 minutes, pulled 4:33pm AEDT. Samso analysis. General information only.

Commodities and Currency

December gold futures were at US$4,011.00 an ounce at 4:24pm AEDT, down 0.51% from Thursday's settlement of US$4,031.40 (Yahoo Finance data).
December copper futures in New York were at US$6.5525 a pound at 4:24pm AEDT, down 0.76% from Thursday's US$6.6025 (Yahoo Finance data).
January Brent crude futures, the international oil benchmark, were at US$111.90 a barrel at 4:24pm AEDT, up 0.99% from Thursday's settlement of US$110.80. The December contract expires today. December West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, was at US$102.95, up 0.93% from US$102.00 (Yahoo Finance data).
The ABC put iron ore unchanged at US$90.75 a tonne in its market snapshot at about 2:00pm AEDT.
The Australian dollar was buying 70.37 US cents at 4:32pm AEDT, down from 70.55 US cents at the same time on Thursday (Yahoo Finance data).

Samso Concluding Comments

The ASX 200 rose 0.18% to 8,908.1 and finished the week 1.28% higher. Coles fell 7.67% on the day of its first quarter sales update, while consumer discretionary rose 2.73%, with JB Hi-Fi, Wesfarmers and Lovisa higher. Smaller companies fell, with the Small Ordinaries down 0.74% and more companies falling than rising. Samso will watch the Reserve Bank's decision on Tuesday 3 November, and the bank and retail shares ahead of it.

General information only. This is not financial advice.

Samso Market Update | Friday, 30 October 2026 | Pre-market 9:45am AEDT

On the ASX today, S&P/ASX 200 futures were up 15 points overnight, the ABC reported this morning. The Motley Fool, in a report published at 7:12am AEDT, said the latest SPI futures pointed to the ASX 200 opening 26 points, or 0.3%, higher. SPI futures are contracts on the ASX 200 that settle against the index on a set later date. They trade overnight, so their move gives an early read on the open. The Australian dollar was buying 70.32 US cents at 7:46am AEDT (Yahoo Finance data). Overnight, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.38% and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, fell 12.64%.

The S&P/ASX 200 closed on Thursday at 8,891.8, up 44.5 points or 0.50%. The All Ordinaries, which tracks the 500 largest listed companies, rose 0.46% to 9,012.6. The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries, an index of the companies ranked 101 to 300 by size, rose 0.41% to 3,171.4 (Yahoo Finance data).

ASX today: Key Highlights

Futures point to a higher open for the ASX 200 (ABC, The Motley Fool).
The S&P 500 fell 0.30%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.25% and the Nasdaq Composite 1.38% on Thursday. The Russell 2000 rose 1.01% (Yahoo Finance data).
Alphabet's Class A shares closed down 12.64% at US$283.82 (Yahoo Finance data). Yahoo Finance said the fall followed its September quarter results and was steeper than any session since the company went public in 2004.
Amazon's shares were down 5.66% and Intel's down 16.45% in after-hours trade at 4:48pm New York time (Yahoo Finance data). Both reported results after the close, Yahoo Finance said.
US GDP grew at an annualised 3.4% in the September quarter, Yahoo Finance reported, citing the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The European Central Bank held its deposit rate at 2.5%, Euronews reported.

Wall Street overnight

The S&P 500 fell 0.30% on Thursday to 7,720.39, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.25% to 52,342.56. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.38% to 26,184.73. The Russell 2000, an index of smaller US companies, rose 1.01% to 2,859.22 (Yahoo Finance data). Yahoo Finance said Alphabet's results "sparked a sell-off in the stock and AI jitters returned to markets, dragging on the tech-heavy indexes". It said investors rotated into healthcare, financial and real estate shares, "keeping a lid on overall market losses". In plain terms, US technology shares fell the most, the wider market fell slightly and smaller US companies rose.

Alphabet's Class A shares closed at US$283.82, down from US$324.89 on Wednesday. Yahoo Finance said Alphabet's sales "came up short" and that concerns about its free cash flow and the return on its AI spending weighed on the stock. The ABC, citing Reuters, said Alphabet's negative free cash flow of US$9.1 billion shocked analysts, who had generally expected it to come close to breaking even. Hugh Lam, an investment strategist at Betashares, wrote in comments quoted by the ABC that "The market is moving from indiscriminately rewarding AI spending to scrutinising how it is financed." Software shares also fell, with ServiceNow closing down 26.95% (Yahoo Finance data). Yahoo Finance said outlooks from ServiceNow and Fortinet "further heightened AI jitters". Caterpillar, the machinery maker, closed down 9.25%, and Yahoo Finance said its fourth quarter forecast "failed to impress Wall Street".

In after-hours trade, which runs after the 4pm New York close, Amazon was at US$230.00 at 4:48pm New York time, down 5.66% from its close of US$243.79. Yahoo Finance said Amazon kept its 2026 capital spending plan at US$220 billion, and that its free cash flow was an outflow of US$42.4 billion for the twelve months to 30 September. Intel was at US$76.92, down 16.45% from US$92.07. Yahoo Finance said Intel's fourth quarter revenue outlook of US$15 billion to US$16 billion was below the US$17 billion analysts expected. After-hours prices move on thin trade and can change before the next session opens.

On the economy, Yahoo Finance reported that US GDP grew at an annualised rate of 3.4% in the September quarter in the first estimate, above economists' expectations of 3.1%. An annualised rate shows what the quarter's growth would be if it continued for a full year. Yahoo Finance said the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, rose 3.6% from a year earlier in September, in line with expectations, and that the reading solidified expectations for a Federal Reserve rate rise in December.

The US 10-year Treasury yield was 4.989% at 2:59pm New York time on Thursday, down 5.6 basis points from 5.045% on Wednesday (Yahoo Finance data). A basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point. The yield is the yearly return from buying US government debt at today's price and holding it until it is repaid. When yields fall, bond prices rise, so the price of 10-year US government bonds rose on Thursday.

Japan and Asia

The Nikkei 225 closed on Thursday at 64,659.47, up 1.10%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.59% to 22,958.65, and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.82% to 3,651.43 (Yahoo Finance data). The US dollar was buying 157.66 yen at 7:46am AEDT. Put together, Tokyo rose while Hong Kong and Shanghai fell.

London and Europe

London's FTSE 100 closed on Thursday at 10,722.07, up 0.26% (Yahoo Finance data). Germany's DAX rose 1.31% to 26,039.68, and France's CAC 40 rose 1.05% to 7,970.00. The European Central Bank left its deposit rate unchanged at 2.5% on Thursday, Euronews reported. The deposit rate is the interest the ECB pays banks on overnight deposits and is its main policy rate. Euronews put eurozone inflation at 3.8%, and said President Christine Lagarde announced earlier in the day that she would leave next February, before her term ends. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 both rose more than the FTSE 100.

Currencies

The Australian dollar was little changed from Wednesday's close of 70.30 US cents (Yahoo Finance data). The US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against a basket of six major currencies, was at 101.89 at 7:37am AEDT, down 0.30% from 102.19 at Wednesday's close. The euro was at US$1.1187, up 0.52%, and the British pound at US$1.3383, up 0.58%, at 7:45am AEDT. In short, the US dollar was softer against the major currencies, so the Australian dollar lost ground against the euro and the pound.

Commodities

December West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the US oil benchmark, were at US$102.85 a barrel at 7:36am AEDT, little changed from Wednesday's settlement of US$102.78 (Yahoo Finance data). In a report carried by Yahoo Finance at 6am New York time on Thursday, Bloomberg said oil dropped as traders weighed fresh diplomatic efforts in the Middle East over Iran. December Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, were at US$115.65, up 0.29% from Wednesday's settlement. The January Brent contract, which Yahoo Finance's main Brent quote now follows, was at US$111.58, little changed.

December gold futures were at US$4,039.50 an ounce at 7:36am AEDT, down 0.30% from Wednesday's settlement of US$4,051.60. December silver futures fell 2.42% to US$52.37 an ounce, and December copper futures in New York fell 1.15% to US$6.595 a pound (Yahoo Finance data).

Iron ore was little changed at US$90.71 a tonne on 29 October, Trading Economics reported. Trading Economics bases its figure on trading in a contract for difference that tracks the benchmark price of 62% iron ore fines delivered to the Chinese port of Tianjin. For ASX resources shares, oil was steady overnight and iron ore was little changed on Thursday, while gold, silver and copper futures were lower.

Today's diary

All times AEDT.

Thursday, 6:18pm. Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS) said it signed a 20-year agreement to supply QatarEnergy with up to 3 million tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas from its Louisiana LNG project, which is under construction and targeting first LNG in 2029.
8:12am. Resmed (ASX: RMD) reported first quarter revenue up 6% to US$1.4 billion for the three months to 30 September, and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share up 14% to US$2.91. Non-GAAP figures are the company's own measures, which leave out some items that accounting standards include.
8:16am. Origin Energy (ASX: ORG) said revenue at Australia Pacific LNG, its joint venture with ConocoPhillips and Sinopec, was A$2,601 million in the September quarter on a 100% basis, 32% higher than the prior quarter. Origin said this was driven mainly by higher realised oil prices on LNG sales.
8:32am. Coles Group (ASX: COL) reported supermarkets sales revenue up 3.6% to A$10,320 million for the 13 weeks to 27 September, with comparable sales growth of 2.7%. Total group sales revenue rose 2.2% to A$11,209 million.
11:30am. The Australian Bureau of Statistics releases the Producer Price Indexes for September 2026, Apparent Consumption of Selected Foodstuffs for 2024-25, and Foreign Currency Exposure for March 2026 (ABS release calendar).
The Bank of Japan releases its rate decision and quarterly Outlook Report today, at the end of a two-day meeting (Finance Calendar). Finance Calendar says the release typically comes around midday Tokyo time, about 2pm AEDT.
Next week, Tuesday 3 November, 2:30pm. The Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Board decision and Statement on Monetary Policy, with a media conference at 3:30pm (RBA calendar).

Samso Concluding Comments

ASX 200 futures point higher this morning, even though Yahoo Finance linked Thursday's fall in US technology shares to Alphabet's results and to renewed doubts about the return on AI spending. Yahoo Finance said investors rotated into healthcare, financial and real estate shares in New York. Samso will watch how ASX technology shares open, energy shares with US crude above US$100 a barrel and Woodside's Louisiana LNG agreement, this morning's updates from Resmed and Origin, gold miners with gold slightly lower, and this morning's update from Coles. Samso will also watch bank and property shares ahead of Tuesday's Reserve Bank decision.

Thursday's editions are at ASX today, Thursday 29 October 2026, and Wednesday's are at ASX today, Wednesday 28 October 2026.

General information only. This is not financial advice.