ASX 200 ends week +1.27% at 9,020.8 as Democrats win Congress; tech +10.02%, energy -7.44%
ASX 200 week close: 9,020.8 (+1.27%) S&P 500 Friday close: 7,376.86 (+0.31%) Sentiment: mixed
The week on the ASX
The S&P/ASX 200 closed at 9,020.8 on 6 November 2026, up 112.7 points or 1.27% from 8,908.1 on 30 October, as a 2.61% gain on Thursday after Democrats won the US House and Senate outweighed losses on three other sessions. The index fell 0.58% on Monday to 8,856.5, rose 0.34% on Tuesday to 8,886.8 after the RBA lifted the cash rate to 4.85% in a 6 to 3 vote, and fell 0.59% on Wednesday to 8,834.5 as the House projection landed. Thursday's rise to 9,065.1 was its largest one-day gain since 10 April 2025, with materials +7.55% and 194 advancers to 31 decliners. On Friday the index fell 0.49% as the US chip selloff spread through Asia and the Nikkei lost 6.21%.
NXT.AU rose 77.17% for the week to $10.40 after a vehicle owned 50-50 by GMG.AU and Digital Realty bought about 7.5% of the company at $9.50 a share. January Brent fell 13.81% to US$97.76, and the S&P/ASX 200 Energy index lost 7.44% as WDS.AU fell 7.77% and STO.AU 7.46%. The All Ords Gold index rose 5.80% as December gold gained 5.01% to US$4,079.5/oz. NAB.AU fell 3.64% for the week after FY26 cash earnings dropped 13.4% to $6.14 billion, and MQG.AU slipped 1.42% after its half-year result.
Sector scorecard (5-day)
The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology index rose 10.02% in the week to 6 November 2026, the best of the 11 sectors, while Energy fell 7.44%.
- Best: Information Technology (+10.02%), as XRO.AU rose 13.91% to $70.74, XYZ.AU 13.61% to $122.66 after Block raised FY26 guidance.
- Worst: Energy (-7.44%), as NHC.AU fell 11.28% and coal names joined the oil producers.
- Dispersion (best minus worst): 17.46 pts
- 4.83% was the Consumer Staples gain, as WOW.AU rose 5.54% and COL.AU 4.34%, recovering part of the previous week's 5.13% sector fall.
- 4.32% for Communication Services as REA.AU rose 9.61% after its first-quarter revenue beat; Consumer Discretionary +3.90%.
- A-REITs +3.78% (GMG.AU +3.11%), Industrials +2.37% (QAN.AU +7.51%), Materials +1.76%, Health Care +1.38%, Resources +0.32%, Financials -0.16%, Utilities -0.52%.
Top movers, week ending 6 November
| Ticker | Week | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| NXT.AU | +77.17% | GMG.AU and Digital Realty vehicle bought about 7.5% at $9.50 a share |
| NEC.AU | +21.64% | AGM reaffirmed FY27 growth; cost-out target lifted to at least $180m |
| VGN.AU | +18.26% | January Brent fell 13.81% for the week, cutting the jet fuel outlook |
| OBM.AU | +15.20% | All Ords Gold index +5.80% as December gold rose 5.01% |
| TUA.AU | +14.51% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven. |
| EOS.AU | -17.61% | Defence names led ASX losses on Wednesday (Capital Brief) |
| APE.AU | -14.36% | Guided 2026 underlying return on sales to 2.8% to 3.0% |
| AMP.AU | -12.60% | UBS cut FY26 EPS 4.6% after China Life Pension profit stalled |
| NHC.AU | -11.28% | Coal names fell with energy as Brent dropped 13.81% |
| SLX.AU | -10.81% | Fell with uranium names on Tuesday; -7.19% on Friday |
TUA.AU recovered part of the previous week's 29.95% fall on a Singapore IMDA show cause notice to its Simba Telecom unit. NXT.AU closed Friday 9.47% above the $9.50 stake price, and the buyers said they do not currently intend to make a control proposal. APE.AU forecast record 2026 revenue of $17.3 billion to $17.5 billion but said interest rates, inflation and fuel costs would hit Australian margins.
Friday US session
- S&P 500: 7,376.86 (+0.31%)
- Nasdaq: 24,579.42 (+1.09%)
- Dow: 51,285.73 (-0.46%)
- VIX: 25.64 (-9.01%)
US nonfarm payrolls rose 165,000 in October against 65,000 expected, and unemployment fell to 4.1% (Business Insider). The 10-year Treasury yield rose 2 bps to 4.86% on Friday as traders added to bets on a Fed rate rise in December (Bloomberg), and the dollar index gained 0.72% to 102.28. Chip stocks recovered part of Thursday's fall, when the Nasdaq lost 5.52% and the S&P 500 4.36% on concern about slower data centre construction under a Democratic Congress (CBS News). MU.US rose 5.12% on Friday after a 22.01% weekly fall, and for the week the S&P 500 lost 2.68%, the Nasdaq 3.37% and the Dow 0.94%.
December gold slipped 0.83% on Friday to US$4,079.5/oz and January Brent 0.54% to US$97.76; WTI fell 13.23% for the week to US$90.34. AUD/USD ended at 0.6868, down 2.37% for the week from 0.7035 and below the 0.6889 level at the ASX close on Friday.
Macro themes that played out
The RBA raised the cash rate 25 bps to 4.85% on Tuesday 3 November, its fifth rise of 2026 and the highest level in 18 years, with six members voting to raise and three to hold. The Statement on Monetary Policy lifted the December 2026 trimmed mean forecast to 3.6% from 3.3% and headline CPI to 4.5% from 3.6%, and put unemployment at 4.7%. The RBA expects inflation to stay above its 2% to 3% target band until late 2027. UBS expects the cash rate to hold at 4.85% from here (Market Index). The S&P Global services PMI fell to 48.5 in October from 51.9, its first reading below 50 since May, and Australia posted a A$2.83 billion goods surplus for September against an expected A$0.8 billion deficit.
Decision Desk HQ projected a Democratic win in the US House during the ASX session on Wednesday 4 November, and by Thursday Democrats had won both chambers. The ASX rose 2.61% on the result, while US chip and AI names fell: UBS said potential state-level limits put about 30% of expected 2028 US data centre capacity additions at risk (Market Index). The Nikkei fell 6.21% on Friday to 57,282.15, 20% below its June peak, and South Korea's Kospi halted trading for 20 minutes after a fall of as much as 8.8%. January Brent fell 8.7% on Wednesday to US$94.62 on hopes for US-Iran talks, then rose on Friday after Iran reported tanker damage in the Strait of Hormuz. LME copper hit its lowest level since July on Friday, as TD Securities said US copper tariffs looked less likely under a Democratic Congress.
Week ahead, Monday to Friday (AEDT)
- Mon 9 Nov: ANZ.AU full-year result at 10:00am; 9:30am RBA Assistant Governor Sarah Hunter speaks at the UBS Australasia Conference; 11:30am ABS building approvals for September; 12:30pm China October CPI and PPI.
- Tue 10 Nov: 11:00am Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment for November, after 80.4 in October; NAB business survey for October. Warburg Pincus has asked INA.AU to grant exclusive due diligence on its $5.55 cash proposal by this date.
- Wed 11 Nov: 12:30am US October CPI; CBA.AU first-quarter trading update; 11:30am ABS lending indicators for the September quarter. Veterans Day is a US Federal Reserve holiday.
- Thu 12 Nov: ANZ.AU trades ex-dividend; 10:30am RBA board member Marnie Baker speaks at the ARCA Credit Summit; 11:00am Melbourne Institute consumer inflation expectations.
- Fri 13 Nov: 12:30am US jobless claims; CBA.AU and ANZ.AU variable home-loan rates rise 25 bps from this date after the RBA decision.
- Sat 14 Nov: 12:30am US October PPI.
No ABS labour force release falls this week; the October figures are due on Thursday 19 November, and the September-quarter Wage Price Index on Wednesday 18 November.
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