The ASX 200 recovered to close down just 8 points at 8,720 after hitting a low this morning of 8,641 on a pullback in AI and risk across the board. The catalyst for the turnaround was the banks, which had a very strong day, with CBA up 3.3%, WBC up 2.9%, and good results from BOQ helping sentiment. The Big Bank Basket rallied 3%. The jobs data came in at a headline rate of 4.7%, which may give the RBA an excuse to pause for the time being. Insurers, too, rallied, with QBE up 2.7% and SUN up 2.2%, although we did see financials generally weaker and MQG slipping 1.3%. Industrials, and interest-rate-sensitive stocks had a good day, with TCL up 1.9%, QAN rallying 1.1%, and TLS up 1.9% on the back of defensive buying. Both WOW and COL also had good days on defensive qualities. Tech stocks, though, slipped again, with XRO down 3.0%, and TNE down 1.9%, with MP1 crashing another 10.1%, along with other data centre companies like NXT, off 7.4%. Healthcare stocks were mixed, with CSL pushing another 1.3% higher, but PME slipping today.

Resources were where the damage was done, together with the data centres. BHP fell 4.7%, with RIO also down heavily. Once again, we saw lithium and rare earth stocks under serious pressure, with PLS down 6.3%, LYC down 6.6%, and MIN down 4.9%. Gold miners slipped slightly on lower bullion prices as fears of further rate rises in the U.S. hurt sentiment. A slowdown in the rollout of the data centres in the U.S. continues to hurt the uranium sector, with PDN down 5.1% and DYL down 5.8%. Coal stocks are joining in the weakness today, with WHC falling 4.5%.

In corporate news, the rot continues at MGH, down 11.0%, as its founder pulled out of a conference. We also saw numbers today from BOQ which were slightly better than anticipated, and an update from TWE also helped them rise 4.6%. In takeover news today, TPG (PE Group) surprised the market by taking a 14.9% stake in EQT. INA also had a tough day after Warburg Pincus gave the company a Monday deadline on its acquisition proposal. It dropped 11.6%.

On the economic front, unemployment fell to 4.7%, worse than expected by economists, with employment falling by nearly 40,000 against a consensus of 20,000 jobs created.

10-year yields ease to 5.21%. US Futures – Dow down 6, Nasdaq down 242.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Winners: GDG, EQT, 4DX, BOQ, NEC, TWE, WOW
  • Losers: BRE, A44N, INA, MGH, MLX, SLX, SRL, TEA, MP1
  • Positive Sectors: Banks. Insurers. Supermarkets. Utilities.
  • Negative Sectors: Iron ore. Lithium. Rare earths. Gold miners. Coal. Uranium.
  • ASX 200 Hi 8736 Lo 8641
  • Big Bank Basket: Higher at $270.58 Up 3%
  • All-Tech Index: Down 1.6%
  • Gold: Steady at $5960
  • Bitcoin: Falls to US$81496
  • 10-year yields: Eases to 5.21% on unemployment figures.
  • AUD: Falls to 69.55c

MARKET MOVERS

  • EQT +17.1% TPG takes a stake.
  • 4DX +7.4% bounce day.
  • BOQ +5.9% results better than expected.
  • TWE +4.6% guidance update.
  • WOW +4.3% defensive buying.
  • GDG +17.2% solid rally.
  • 6KA +3.9% additives.
  • CTT +6.9% the beat goes on.
  • IVZ +3.4% Musuma well pad completed.
  • BRE -13.3% rare earths unravels.
  • MGH -11.0% buy back update.
  • INA -11.6% Monday deadline.
  • MP1 -10.0% sell off continues.
  • MLX – 10.8% tin whacked.
  • DXN -16.2% IT sell off.
  • Yesterday’s Hero: ID1 +34%
  • Speculative Stock of the Day: ID1 +34% again today.

ECONOMIC AND OTHER NEWS

  • Jobs data – In seasonally adjusted terms, in September 2026: the employment-to-population ratio decreased 0.3ppt to 63.6%. The unemployment rate increased 0.1ppt to 4.7%.
  • Korean stocks tumble again as the global sell-off in semiconductors continued, with the index down 8% today.
  • Insider trading charges are dropped against Richard White from ASIC.
  • Ukraine to resume strikes on Russian refineries, according to Zelensky.
  • Anthropic has told investors that quarterly revenue was up nearly 50% to 16.8 billion ahead of its IPO.
  • Berkshire Hathaway has added a $330m stake in tech group Bending Spoons.
  • Global diesel prices set to rise again, warns the IEA.
  • Elon Musk says Trump is ultimately responsible for any curbs on Ukraine Starship systems.

And finally…..

My teacher said:

– Don’t worry about spelling. In future there will be autocorrect.

And for that I am really grapefruit!

Clarence

XXXX