ASX 200 rises 0.34% to 8,886.8 as property jumps on a split RBA vote; energy falls 3.45%
ASX 200 close: 8,886.8 (+0.34%) Breadth: 117 advancers / 83 decliners (208-name Yahoo sweep, 8 unchanged) Sentiment: mixed
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,886.8 on 3 November 2026, up 30.3 points or 0.34%, as the 3-year government bond yield fell about 8 bps after the RBA lifted the cash rate to 4.85% in a 6 to 3 vote. AMP.AU lost 9.36% after UBS cut its earnings forecasts, while QAN.AU gained 6.36% on Monday's 7.63% fall in Brent. The RBA now expects inflation to stay above the 2% to 3% target band until late 2027 and unemployment to rise by more than it forecast in August.
What moved the index
A-REITs, financials and consumer discretionary added about 47 bps to the ASX 200 on 3 November 2026, against about 14 bps taken by energy.
- A-REITs: +2.85%, worth about +20 bps of the +34 bps index move. SGP.AU rose 3.96% to $4.46, SCG.AU 3.68% to $3.66 and GMG.AU 2.44% to $27.31 as the 3-year yield fell (Market Index).
- Financials: +0.42%, worth about +14 bps. CBA.AU rose 1.32% to $167.23 and MQG.AU 1.17% to $254.26. WBC.AU fell 0.99% to $36.82 as Macquarie and Morgan Stanley flagged margin pressure after Monday's result (Market Index).
- Consumer discretionary: +1.87%, worth about +13 bps. HVN.AU rose 5.81%, FLT.AU 4.27% and JBH.AU 3.09% to $75.15 as yield-sensitive and consumer names led after the decision (Market Index). UBS put retailer sales growth at about flat over the seven weeks since early September.
- Energy: -3.45%, worth about -14 bps. January Brent settled 7.63% lower at US$104.77 on Monday on hopes for US-Iran talks (ABC). WDS.AU fell 3.53% to $32.24, ALD.AU 4.95% to $37.08 and STO.AU 1.75% to $8.96.
Together, these four drivers account for about 33 bps of the 34 bps move; the residual reflects smaller sector moves, approximate weights and breadth of 117 advancers to 83 decliners.
Session highlights
- 4.85% is the cash rate after the RBA's fifth rise of 2026, the highest in 18 years. Six members voted to raise it and three to hold at 4.60%.
- 3.6% is the RBA's December 2026 trimmed mean forecast, up from 3.3% in August; headline CPI moved to 4.5% from 3.6%, and unemployment to 4.7% from 4.5% (Market Index).
- 8,843.3 was the session low, -0.15% around the 2:30pm decision, and 8,909.1 the high. The index stood at 8,899.6 at 3:10pm AEDT (AFR) and closed 22.3 points below the high.
- 11.20 was the AU VIX close, down 2.29% after the decision.
- QAN.AU rose to $9.36 and VGN.AU gained 8.87% to $2.70 on the lower Brent price (Stockhead); WEB.AU added 3.02%.
- 7% is roughly the FY27 ASX 200 earnings growth now expected, down from almost 13% four months ago, the sharpest slowdown over a similar period since March 2020 (UBS, via Market Index).
Sector scorecard
- Best: A-REITs (+2.85%)
- Worst: Energy (-3.45%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 6.30 pts
- Financials had the widest internal spread among the names checked, 16.27 pts, from NWL.AU +6.91% to AMP.AU -9.36%.
- Consumer Discretionary +1.87%, Communication Services +1.72%, Consumer Staples +1.22%, Information Technology +0.77%, Industrials +0.67%, Financials +0.42%, Utilities -0.16%, Materials -0.17%, Health Care -0.58%, Resources -0.77%. All Ords Gold +0.30%.
- NXT.AU rose 5.38% to $6.27 and WTC.AU 3.23% to $41.83, as the ASX tech index ended a three-session fall of 3.2% (Market Index). MP1.AU lost 4.46%.
- WHC.AU fell 5.05%, NHC.AU 5.40% and BMN.AU 4.51%, as coal and uranium names fell with oil and gas (Market Index).
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| VGN.AU | +8.87% | Brent fell 7.63% on Monday, cutting the jet fuel outlook (Stockhead). |
| NWL.AU | +6.91% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| QAN.AU | +6.36% | Same Brent fall; Stockhead cites cheaper jet fuel. |
| HVN.AU | +5.81% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| LLC.AU | +5.51% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| AMP.AU | -9.36% | UBS cut FY26 EPS 4.6% after China Life Pension profit growth stalled. |
| 4DX.AU | -7.31% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| VEA.AU | -6.57% | Refiners fell with the energy sector after Brent's 7.63% drop. |
| WIA.AU | -6.49% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| YAL.AU | -6.43% | Coal names fell with the energy sector; no price-sensitive notice today. |
Notable announcements
- AMP.AU: China Life Pension's third-quarter profit slipped 0.3% to RMB486m, after 58% growth in the second quarter. UBS cut FY26 EPS by 4.6% and FY27 by 4.8%, and AMP.AU has lost 16.1% in two sessions (Market Index).
- ARF.AU: rose 3.79% to $2.74 after updating FY27 distribution guidance and announcing a Goodstart transaction; the distribution is expected near the top of its range (MarketScreener).
- WBC.AU: UBS said deposit and lending competition took 5 bps from the core margin in the second half, which it expects to carry into FY27 (Market Index).
- WDS.AU: Morgan Stanley expects a revamped capital allocation framework at the 5 November Capital Markets Day (Market Index).
After the AU close (18:55 AEDT)
| Asset | Level | Change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 (cash) | 7,541.40 | -0.51% | Monday's close; S&P 500 futures -0.29% at 18:55 AEDT |
| STOXX 600 | 649.44 | +0.42% | Monday's close |
| KOSPI | 5,648.79 | -3.59% | Closed; US chip stocks fell on Monday (Market Index) |
| Hang Seng | 23,483.90 | +0.39% | Trading; the PBOC backed its stock-support tools (Market Index) |
| Brent (Jan) | US$106.51 | +1.66% | Reports of a US strike on Qeshm Island (Economic Times) |
| Gold (Dec) | US$3,917.90/oz | -1.30% | Reversed most of Monday's rise from a one-year low |
| AUD/USD | 0.6991 | -0.12% | Fell to 0.6976 after the RBA decision (ABC) |
Next 24h catalysts (AEDT)
- Wed 4 Nov 02:00: US JOLTS job openings, durable goods and factory orders
- Wed 4 Nov, morning: AMD.US results after the US close; US midterm election results begin to arrive
- Wed 4 Nov 11:30: ABS job vacancies, monthly household spending and selected living cost indexes
- Thu 5 Nov 11:30: ABS international trade in goods, September
- Thu 5 Nov: NAB.AU full-year results and the WDS.AU Capital Markets Day
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