ASX 200 -0.49% to 9,020.8 as miners fall on the Asian chip rout; banks rise and the week ends +1.27%
ASX 200 close: 9,020.8 (-0.49%) Breadth: 62 advancers / 178 decliners Sentiment: bearish
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 9,020.8 on 6 November 2026, down 44.3 points or 0.49%, as materials fell 2.51% after the US chip selloff spread through Asia and LME copper hit its lowest level since July. NEC.AU gained 11.64% to $0.815 after Nine reaffirmed FY27 revenue and EBITDA growth at its AGM and lifted its cost-savings target to at least $180 million. The index recovered 97.5 points from an 8,923.3 low and finished the week up 1.27%, from 8,908.1 on 30 October.
What moved the index
The ASX 200 fell 49 bps on 6 November 2026, the day after a 2.61% gain, with miners down and the big four banks up.
- Materials: -2.51%, about 22% of the index, worth about 55 bps of the fall. BHP.AU lost 2.34%, RIO.AU 2.03% and FMG.AU 2.00%, and the All Ords Gold index fell 2.67% after a 12.38% gain on Thursday. LME copper fell 0.4% to US$13,786 a tonne at 12:23pm AEDT, per Market Index, as TD Securities said US copper tariffs looked less likely under a Democratic Congress and the AI buildout put data centre demand in doubt.
- Big four banks: CBA.AU +0.73%, NAB.AU +2.67%, WBC.AU +1.06% and ANZ.AU +0.60%, together about 23% of the index and worth about 25 bps. NAB.AU recovered part of Thursday's 5.37% fall on its FY26 result.
- MQG.AU and GMG.AU: -3.69% and -3.20%, about 6.5% of the index combined, worth about 22 bps of the fall. Macquarie Capital contributed $278 million to the half-year result against $636 million expected, per Market Index. UBS said on 6 November that A-REITs track the global data centre index most closely because of Goodman, and Macquarie tracks the semiconductor index most closely of the ASX 100.
- Consumer staples: +1.41%, about 3.5% of the index and worth about 5 bps, with COL.AU +1.80% and WOW.AU +1.75%.
Together, these four drivers account for about 47 bps of the 49 bps move; the residual reflects 178 decliners against 62 advancers.
Session highlights
- 8,923.3 was the session low, 141.8 points or 1.56% below Thursday's close, before the index closed at 9,020.8. Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.70% and S&P 500 futures down 0.08% at the AU close.
- Nikkei 225 -6.21% to 57,282.15, which Market Index said put it in a technical bear market 20% below its June peak. South Korea's Kospi fell as much as 8.8% and halted trading for 20 minutes.
- QBE.AU +3.32% to $26.75, SUN.AU +1.10%, MPL.AU +1.17% and IAG.AU +0.68%. UBS said insurers and healthcare are the sectors least exposed to an AI investment unwind and is overweight both.
- WDS.AU +0.49% and STO.AU unchanged as January Brent rose 1.57% to US$99.83; the energy index slipped 0.08%. QAN.AU closed unchanged at $9.45 after holding guidance with a 1H27 fuel bill of about $3.75 billion, 85% hedged for FY27.
- AUD/USD -0.61% to 0.6889 and the AU VIX +2.20% to 11.90.
Sector scorecard
- Best: Consumer Staples (+1.41%)
- Worst: Materials (-2.51%)
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 3.92 pts
- Financials had the widest internal spread, 7.01 pts, from QBE.AU +3.32% and NAB.AU +2.67% to MQG.AU -3.69% and JDO.AU -3.61%; the sector index rose 0.55%.
Top movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| NEC.AU | +11.64% | AGM: FY27 growth reaffirmed, cost-out target lifted to $180m |
| NXT.AU | +5.58% | Closed at $10.40, above the $9.50 Goodman and Digital Realty stake price |
| AMC.AU | +4.67% | Recovered part of Thursday's 7.79% fall on its September-quarter result |
| QBE.AU | +3.32% | UBS overweight insurers as least exposed to an AI unwind |
| NAB.AU | +2.67% | Recovered part of Thursday's 5.37% fall on its FY26 result |
| DVP.AU | -10.13% | Copper producer; LME copper at its lowest since July |
| VUL.AU | -9.72% | Lithium fell: ELV.AU -6.44%, LTR.AU -3.73% |
| EQR.AU | -9.68% | Tungsten producer; Bloomberg reported pressure on Trump-backed critical minerals deals |
| NWS.AU | -9.29% | Q1 News Media EBITDA -40%, group EBITDA +19% to US$403m |
| IPX.AU | -8.68% | US titanium producer; same Bloomberg report on critical minerals deals |
Notable announcements
- MQG.AU -3.69% to $248.86: half-year net profit rose 50% to $2.48 billion against $2.41 billion expected, and Commodities and Global Markets contributed $2.03 billion against $1.54 billion expected, per Market Index. The interim dividend is $3.25, 35% franked, and Greg Ward becomes CEO on 7 November.
- JHX.AU -6.22% to $39.20: September-quarter adjusted EBITDA rose 44% to US$455 million. James Hardie reaffirmed FY27 adjusted EBITDA guidance of US$1.45 billion to US$1.53 billion, a midpoint 1% below the US$1.51 billion consensus, per UBS.
- INA.AU +0.77% to $5.24: Warburg Pincus offered $5.55 cash a security, 10 cents above AVID's revised $5.45 proposal.
- THL.AU +5.58% to $2.27: Tourism Holdings received revised non-binding proposals from the BGH Consortium and Indie Campers.
- REA.AU -2.89% to $174.81: UBS said adjusted October listings fell 8% and now forecasts a 6% fall in FY27 listings.
At the AU close (16:15 AEDT)
| Asset | Level | Change | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 (cash) | 7,353.73 | -4.36% | Thursday close; chip index -12.25% |
| Nikkei | 57,282.15 | -6.21% | Closed; 20% below the June peak |
| Brent (Jan) | US$99.83 | +1.57% | Iran reported tanker damage in Hormuz |
| Gold | US$4,057.30/oz | -1.37% | December contract |
| Copper | US$6.22/lb | -0.81% | Lowest LME level since July |
| AUD/USD | 0.6889 | -0.61% | Down from above 0.70 on Thursday |
Next 24h catalysts (AEDT)
- Sat 00:30: US employment report, October (65,000 payrolls expected)
- Sat 08:00: Wall Street Friday close, after the Nasdaq's 5.52% fall on Thursday
- Mon 11:30: ABS Building Approvals, September 2026
- Tue 10 Nov: Warburg Pincus has asked INA.AU to grant exclusive due diligence by this date
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