ASX 200 rises 0.50% to 8,891.8 as banks gain 2.10% and WES.AU falls 4.04%
ASX 200 close: 8,891.8 (+0.50%) Breadth: 132 advancers / 85 decliners Sentiment: mixed
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,891.8 on 29 October 2026, up 44.5 points or 0.50%, as the ASX 200 Banks index rose 2.10% and A-REITs 1.84% (Stockhead). WES.AU fell 4.04% to $74.02 after its AGM address said Bunnings sales growth had moderated as four RBA rate hikes this year weigh on retail demand (Market Index). Wednesday's 4.3% September CPI left the RBA board to decide on Tuesday 3 November whether those hikes have been enough, Governor Michele Bullock said (Market Index).
What moved the index
Financials added about 60 bps to the ASX 200 on 29 October 2026, against about 36 bps taken by consumer stocks and materials.
- Banks and financials: +1.86%, worth about 60 bps of the 50 bps index move. CBA.AU rose 2.07% to $166.39, NAB.AU 2.33% to $41.36, ANZ.AU 2.16% and WBC.AU 1.86%; ASX.AU added 3.01% and BEN.AU 2.49%.
- Property and energy: A-REITs +1.84% and energy +1.36%, together about 17 bps. GMG.AU rose 2.32% to $27.30; WDS.AU gained 1.90% to $32.74 and STO.AU 1.22%. Market Index puts the Real Estate index down 15% year to date and up 5% since the start of October.
- Retailers after AGM updates: consumer discretionary -1.98% and consumer staples -1.77%, together about -22 bps. JBH.AU fell 2.89% after JB Hi-Fi Australia comparable sales dropped 1.4% in the first quarter and slowed in October; SUL.AU lost 2.77% on 0.2% group like-for-like sales growth (Market Index). WOW.AU fell 3.28% to $39.48 on its AGM day.
- Materials: -0.65%, worth about -14 bps. Chinese lithium carbonate futures fell 4.0% to 92,540 yuan a tonne (Market Index); PLS.AU dropped 8.03% and BHP.AU 0.90% to $57.52.
Together, these four drivers account for about 41 bps of the 50 bps move; health care +0.49%, communication services +0.94% and utilities +0.76% supply most of the residual, offset by information technology -1.11%. Advancers led decliners 132 to 85 across the 231-name sweep, with 14 unchanged.
Session highlights
- 8,899.6 was the session high on Yahoo intraday data and 8,864.9 the low, a 34.7-point range; the index closed 7.8 points below the high.
- 10.763 was the ASX 200 VIX close, down 1.75%, its second straight fall.
- 2,082t of NdPr production in the September quarter was a record for LYC.AU, and sales revenue rose 55% to $310.1m (Market Index); the shares rose 4.16% to $13.03. Lynas flagged a one-month maintenance shutdown in Malaysia for the December quarter.
- Nikkei +1.05% to 64,624.56 and KOSPI -1.41% to 5,927.75 at their closes; the Hang Seng was down 0.22% and Shanghai 0.66% into the AU close.
- -1.07% was the move in Nasdaq 100 futures and -0.26% in S&P 500 futures at the AU close, after GOOGL.US fell 9% after hours on Wednesday on a results miss.
- 25 bps was the Bank of Canada's rate hike on Wednesday, to 2.5%, its first since July 2023 (Market Index).
Sector scorecard
- Best: Financials (+1.86%), with A-REITs +1.84%
- Worst: Consumer Discretionary (-1.98%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 3.84 pts
- Health care had the widest internal spread, 38.06 pts, from MSB.AU +23.40% to IDX.AU -14.66%.
- Energy +1.36%, Communication Services +0.94%, Utilities +0.76%, Health Care +0.49%, All Ords Gold +0.19%, Industrials +0.12%, Resources -0.32%, Materials -0.65%, Information Technology -1.11%, Consumer Staples -1.77%.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| MSB.AU | +23.40% | Quarterly report showed Ryoncil revenue up 44% (Stockhead). |
| IPX.AU | +16.67% | Released its September 2026 quarterly report before the open. |
| ZIP.AU | +6.59% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| GNP.AU | +4.73% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| LYC.AU | +4.16% | Record 2,082t NdPr output; revenue up 55% to $310.1m. |
| CIA.AU | -17.26% | Half-year report; quarterly revenue fell 18% year on year (Market Index). |
| IDX.AU | -14.66% | New CEO told the AGM first-quarter revenue was softer than expected. |
| ELV.AU | -9.38% | Chinese lithium carbonate futures fell 4.0% to 92,540 yuan a tonne. |
| PLS.AU | -8.03% | Lithium futures fell; Macquarie cut earnings forecasts on lower prices. |
| DVP.AU | -6.18% | Released its September quarter activities report before the open. |
Notable announcements
- WES.AU: AGM address said Kmart sales growth is in line with 2H26 and FY27 earnings carry $30m to $40m of Moorebank facility costs (Market Index).
- SUN.AU: FY27 gross written premium growth guidance of about 3% after losing a commercial contract worth $125m of premium, with other guidance unchanged (Market Index); the shares fell 1.16% to $19.53.
- JBH.AU: The Good Guys comparable sales fell 0.4% and JB Hi-Fi New Zealand rose 10.7% in the first quarter (Market Index).
- IDX.AU: all nine AGM resolutions passed; the CEO said second-half margins will improve.
At the AU close (16:15 AEDT)
| Asset | Level | Change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nikkei | 64,624.56 | +1.05% | Closed |
| Brent (Dec) | US$113.97 | -1.17% | December contract, at 4:15pm |
| Gold (Dec) | US$4,038.5/oz | -0.32% | US 10-year at 5.045% after the Fed hold |
| AUD/USD | 0.7045 | -0.17% | RBA decision Tuesday 3 November |
Next 24h catalysts (AEDT)
- Thu 23:30: US third quarter GDP and September personal income and outlays
- Fri 01:00: US consumer expenditures release
- Fri 11:30: Australia producer price indexes, September quarter
- Fri: Bank of Japan decision; Bloomberg's poll expects a hold at 1.25% (Market Index)
- Fri 23:30: US employment cost index
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