Fri, 3:26amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 3:26am
Market snapshot
- ASX 200: -1.5% to 8,421 points
- Australian dollar: +0.1% to 64.45 US cents
- S&P 500: -1.6% to 6,539 points
- Nasdaq: -2.4% to 24,054 points
- FTSE: +0.2% to 9,528 points
- EuroStoxx: +0.4% to 564 points
- Spot gold: -0.6% to $US4,052/ounce
- Oil (Brent crude): -1.1& to $US62.66/barrel
- Iron ore: +0.1% to $US104.45/tonne
- Bitcoin: -2.1% to $US85,408
Prices current around 14:25pm AEDT
Live updates on the major ASX indices:
Fri, 5:35amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 5:35am
ASX closes
What a week everyone! Thanks for following along with us.
Once again, The Australian share market has finished the day down -1.6% at 8,417 points.
As Market Analyst Tony Sycamore predicted, it’s the market’s fourth straight weekly loss.
Overall, the market had 164 stocks in the red, 4 unchanged and 32 stocks gaining.
Only one sector finished up; Consumer Non-Cyclicals, and only slightly at that (+0.04%).
The rest finished down, with Basic Materials at the bottom (-4.01%), followed by Academic & Educational Services (-3.6%), and Energy (-3.2%).
Among companies, the top mover was GQG Partners Inc (+5.2%), followed by Catapult Sports Ltd (+4.4%).
It was not a good day for Lovisa Holdings Ltd, finishing at the bottom (-13.8%), followed by Iluka Resources (-11.6%), and Iperionx (-9.6%).
The Australian dollar is pretty flat, up +0.2% at 64.49 US cents.
The US share market futures are feeling optimistic, pointing to a positive start, with the S&P 500 Futures index up +0.4% at the time the Australian market closed.
And that’s it from The Business Team today – have a wonderful weekend and we will see you bright and early on Monday!
Fri, 5:22amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 5:22am
Market close
- ASX 200: -1.6% to 8,417 points
- Australian dollar: +0.2% to 64.50 US cents
- S&P 500 futures: +0.4% to 6,580 points
- Nasdaq: -2.4% to 24,054 points
- FTSE: +0.2% to 9,528 points
- EuroStoxx: +0.4% to 564 points
- Spot gold: -0.5% to $US4,056/ounce
- Oil (Brent crude): -1.3% to $US62.56/barrel
- Iron ore: +0.1% to $US104.45/tonne
- Bitcoin: -1.2% to $US86,195
Prices current around 16:15pm AEDT
Live updates on the major ASX indices:
Fri, 5:20amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 5:20am
ASX edges towards technical correction
The S&P/ASX 200 closed sharply lower today, dropping 136 points or 1.59% to 8,416.50.
The benchmark index hit a record high of 9,115 index points in October.
It means the index is now down 7.6% from its all-time high.
A technical market correction is considered a 10% dive from a recent peak.
Fri, 5:05amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 5:05am
Critical minerals
Before we get ready to give a markets wrap for the afternoon, I thought you might be interested in reading this beautifully produced story by my colleagues Annika Burgess and Sharon Gordon titled:
“How critical minerals power our daily lives from the moment we wake up”
Fri, 4:57amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 4:57am
Binance
Tonight on Close of Business Alicia Barry interviews Binance CEO Richard Teng to talk all things cryptocurrency.
Make sure to tune in!
Fri, 4:52amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 4:52am
Japan’s market movement
For some reason images aren’t working for me today!
Japan’s top and bottom movers below:
TOP MOVERS
M3 Inc up 6.6%
Nitori Holdings up 4.4%
Olympus Corp up 4.3%
Mitshubishi up 4%
BOTTOM MOVERS
Mitsui Kinzoku down 12.3%
Advantest down 12%
Furukawa Electric down 10.7%
Sumitomo Electric Industries down 10.5%
Fri, 4:47amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 4:47am
‘Big differences’ compared to 1999-2000
Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP, says there are “big differences” between current concerns over the bursting of the tech bubble and what happened to markets a quarter of a century ago.
The dot-com crash saw overvalued internet stocks collapse, with the NASDAQ falling by more than 75%, wiping out an estimated $US7 trillion ($10.8 trillion) by October 2002 as thousands of tech start-ups failed.
But Mr Oliver posted on X that the so-called Magnficient Seven shares have “huge profits and strong growth”.
Fri, 4:34amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 4:34am
Japan’s stock movement
Here are the best and worst performing companies on Japan’s stock exchange as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s cabinet approved a 21.3 trillion yen ($US135.40 billion) economic stimulus package this afternoon.
Mitsui Kinzoku Co Ltd is down almost 14%.
Fri, 4:24amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 4:24am
Softbank Group
Japan’s multinational investment company SoftBank Group Corp is down almost 10% this afternoon. This is a massive drop from yesterday which you’ll see in the table below.
Nikkei is down about 2.5% overall.
Fri, 4:08amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 4:08am
Calls to boost Australian investment in AI
My colleagues Julia Bergin and Angus Randall put together the below report on Australia’s investment into AI and what it means for the future.
Greater investment equals big money for our economy, but at what cost?
Fri, 3:55amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 3:55am
Foxconn and AI
Global tech manufacturing company Foxconn says it has the capability to manufacture 1,000 artificial intelligence racks per week (a specialised server used to house and support high performance computing).
It was announced by Foxconn Chairman Young Liu at the contract electronics manufacture’s tech day, who also said that number was expected to increase next year.
Fri, 3:42amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 3:42am
Japan’s cabinet approves lavish $US135 billion stimulus as markets fret over fiscal policy
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s cabinet approved a 21.3 trillion yen ($US135.40 billion) economic stimulus package on Friday, marking the first major policy initiative under the new leader, who has pledged to pursue expansionary fiscal measures.
The package includes general account outlays of 17.7 trillion yen, far exceeding the previous year’s 13.9 trillion yen and representing the largest stimulus since the COVID pandemic. It will also include 2.7 trillion yen in tax cuts.
Growing concerns about the nation’s worsening fiscal position brought about by Takaichi’s lavish stimulus package have sent the Japanese currency to 10-month lows and super-long government bond yields to record highs.
The package will be funded by an expected rise in overall tax revenue reflecting inflation, as well as an additional issuance of government bonds.
The size of additional government bond issuance has still to be finalised, but is expected to be larger than the 6.69 trillion yen issued for last year’s stimulus, sources familiar with the matter said.
The cabinet plans to approve a supplementary budget to fund the package as early as November 28, aiming to secure parliamentary approval by the end of the year.
Fri, 3:41amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 3:41am
Why do we call it a bear or bull market?
Financial news frequently use terms “bear” and “bull”. Where do they come from and what do they mean?
– Paul
G’day Paul,
There are stacks of different takes on this.
The simplest reasoning is in the way both animals attack prey.
The bull thrusts its horns upward (rising prices).
The bear swipes its paws downward (falling prices).
It’s a great dinner party discussion though because there are plenty of variations on this.
Hope that helps.
DT
Fri, 3:31amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 3:31am
Frayed nerves persist on markets
Investors bailing out of the yen and Japan’s government bonds have driven some borrowing costs there to record highs.
It’s bending markets out of shape and piling pressure on the country’s policymakers as they try to pilot the economy through a rough patch.
Local investors have been reluctant to buy the dip on the Australian share market.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell a sharp 2% at the open and is still down over 1.5% at 2:30pm AEDT.
A little support has come back into Japanese bond market.
The yield on Japan’s 10-year government bonds is back under 1.8%.
This means some buyers have move in to snap up government securities.
And US futures markets are modestly higher.
Investors appear to be waiting for another market signal before deciding where to head from here.
Reporting with Reuters
Fri, 3:22amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 3:22am
Nikkei in the red
Nikkei is down -2.4% as the Tokyo Stock Exchange heads into lunchtime.
We are expecting an announcement of a major stimulus package by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government.
Fri, 3:15amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 3:15am
Star saved, kinda, as Queensland government okays Bally’s rescue plan
The Star has spent the past year teetering on the brink of insolvency.
Many elements have fed into it, including a collapse in revenue.
Then there’s the increased cost of following the law (pesky, I know) in two states that have found it unsuitable to operate in.
Stronger restrictions to prevent money laundering have also played a part in lowering income – while hanging over the struggling company is the threat of a potentially $400 million fine from financial crimes agency AUSTRAC. (Which Star says would send it over the edge).
Did I mention cost over-runs on its mega Queen’s Wharf project, so bad it’s been trying to off-load the whole thing?
Cost over-runs on this Brisbane project didn’t sink Star. But they didn’t help (Queen’s Wharf Brisbane)
So it’s rare you get to write the phrase: “Today in good news for Star Entertainment Group…”
But today, in good news for Star Entertainment Group, Queensland’s Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said authorities had completed an “investigation into the suitability of Bally’s Corporation and its associate to be involved in the ownership and management of The Star Entertainment Group’s operations in Queensland”.
In non-lawyer speak: we checked out your potential buyer and we’re okay with them.
“This investigation has deemed both Bally’s Corporation and Investment Holdings to be suitable entities.
“Following this investigation, and after careful review of the material presented to me, I have now granted the necessary regulatory approvals, which will allow Bally’s Corporation and Investment Holdings to convert their debt into equity in The Star, at their discretion.
“This will provide both entities with a significant ownership stake and influence over the management of The Star’s casino operations in Queensland.
“The investigation by the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation was undertaken jointly with Liquor and Gaming NSW and the NSW Independent Casino Commission.”
The good news has seen the share price rocket, up 22% at the time of writing.
Then again, this means it has gone up to 10.5 cents from 8.6 cents at the close of trade yesterday.
Four years ago a share was worth $3.64.
Fri, 3:00amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 3:00am
China, HK tech shares slide amid global sell-off
China, Hong Kong tech shares slid in Friday’s early trades, joining a global sell-off
- The Hang Seng Tech Index .HSTECH slid as much as 3.1% to a three-month low; on track for the sixth-straight session of decline
- Alibaba 9988.HK down 3.5%, Baidu 9888.HK falls nearly 6%
- China’s CSI AI Index .CSI930713 weakened as much as 3% to the lowest level since September 10
- The CSI Semiconductor Index .CSI931865 was down 2.9% to a two-month low
- Tech shares were hammered around the region after Wall Street stocks slid overnight on Thursday
Fri, 2:45amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 2:45am
The state of super…
I’m guessing it’s not the best time to do a quick check on the super bakance right now?!!!
– Andrew
I’m sure this question is on the minds of many, Andrew! When the market was hit back in April, after Trump announced sweeping tariffs, I wrote the below piece about superannuation.
Executive director of SuperRatings, Kirby Rappell, told me at the time it’s really important for Australians to focus on the long term.
“No knee-jerk reactions are usually the best answer.
“Trying to time into cash and time out of cash is very tricky to do, so focusing on the long term is probably the best thing you can do right now.”
I guess you could apply the same lens when thinking about super now!
Fri, 2:33amFri 21 Nov 2025 at 2:33am
Liberation Day
What is liberation day? Is it Australian? It’s not in the calendar
– Define liberation day
Fair question. Basically on the 2nd April this year, US President Donald Trump announced “Liberation Day”, which kickstarted a period of extraordinary tariffs imposed on countries around the world.
A blanket 10% tariff was announced on all imported goods to the US, and then countries saw higher rates of up to 50%, depending on its relationship with the US.
