ASX edges lower as Wall Street cools; tech steadies the ship while miners lag

Key highlights

• ASX 200 slips to 8,969 (-0.01%) by 1:13pm AEDT, with All Tech +0.94% offsetting Materials -1.33%.
• Wall Street paused from record highs; shutdown enters day 9, futures +0.1% and Michigan sentiment due tonight (AEST).
• Gold eases to US$3,973/oz and Brent US$65/bbl; AUD hovers near US$0.657.
• Novonix, Sunrise Energy Metals, Syrah among top gainers; ERA, Pantoro, EOS lead fallers.
• RBA’s Michele Bullock tells senators housing supply is a multi-year issue; markets still expect a wait-and-see approach until the next inflation read.
  
   

Wall Street took a breather overnight and the ASX has followed suit, but the tone is more “exhale” than “panic.” The S&P 500 and Nasdaq eased from record levels as US investors weighed the ongoing government shutdown and looked ahead to a fresh read on consumer confidence. 

Futures nudged higher late session, hinting at a calmer open tonight (our time). That’s broadly supportive for risk, and you can see the echo in Australia: a flat headline index with tech doing the heavy lifting while miners drag.

The midday picture: a gentle drift, not a dump

By 1:13pm AEDT, the S&P/ASX 200 sat at 8,969.3 (-0.01%) and the All Ords at 9,275.1 (-0.02%). The ASX All Technology Index was the clear bright spot at 4,245.4 (+0.94%), backed by a firmer tone in global growth and AI-adjacent names. Banks helped steady the tape (ASX 200 Banks +0.67%), while cyclicals were mixed and Resources (-1.43%) weighed on the broader market.

Under the hood, seven sectors were up and four down. Tech led, followed by Financials (+0.52%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.37%), and Health Care (+0.33%). Materials (-1.33%) and Energy (-0.60%) lagged as gold eased and crude stayed range-bound. Real Estate (-0.04%) was fractionally softer.

Volatility remains subdued. The ASX VIX sat around 10.6, a “low” reading that usually signals steady risk appetite and a market comfortable with near-term earnings and rates path.

Overnight on Wall Street: pause for breath

In the US, the S&P 500 (-0.28%) and Nasdaq (-0.08%) slipped from records, while the Dow (-0.52%) underperformed as investors digested the shutdown headlines and shifted focus to earnings season. AI bellwethers still underpin sentiment—Nvidia closed at another high this week—yet there’s an understandable “prove-it” vibe setting in ahead of guidance updates from Big Tech later in October and the banks from next week.

What matters for the ASX? When the US pauses but doesn’t break, the local market tends to take its cues from sectors with clearer earnings visibility. Today, that’s tech and banks. The miners, by contrast, are trading off the day’s commodity tape more than Wall Street’s mood music.

RBA watch: Bullock on the Hill

RBA Governor Michele Bullock faced the Senate today and stuck to a practical script: housing supply constraints are likely to persist for a couple of years; the Bank isn’t in the business of setting house prices; and it will wait for the next quarterly inflation print before weighing any policy adjustments. The read-through for equities is straightforward—no hawkish surprises, no dovish promises. For bank shares, that kind of “steady hands” message is fine; for rate-sensitive property names, it keeps hopes of stability alive without sparking a rally.

Movers and shakers

Top gainers (mid-cap and up):

• Novonix (NVX) +28.5% — battery tech names rallied, with traders leaning into higher-beta tech after Wall Street’s AI resilience.
• Sunrise Energy Metals (SRL) +24.3% and Syrah (SYR) +18.1% — battery materials bounced, helped by bargain-hunting and the stronger All Tech tone spilling over to the EV complex.
• American Rare Earths (ARR) +17.4% — rare earths tracked broader “energy transition” momentum.
• Audinate (AD8) +6.3% and Weebit Nano (WBT) +5.8% — quality tech names benefitted from the sector bid.
  
   

Biggest fallers:

• Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) -16.7% — uranium sentiment cooled after a hot run.
• Pantoro (PNR) -8.1%, Alkane (ALK) -5.6%, Astral Resources (AAR) -6.0% — gold names softened as the metal eased.
• Electro Optic Systems (EOS) -7.3% — profit-taking after recent strength in defence tech.
  
   

Commodities and FX: a calmer tape

• Gold eased to US$3,973/oz (-0.04%), enough to take the shine off the ASX gold sub-index (XGD -2.59%).
• Brent crude hovered at US$65.29/bbl (+0.10%) and WTI at US$61.63/bbl (+0.19%)—little directional impulse there.
• Copper slipped to US$5.08/lb (-0.70%), a headwind for the diversified miners.
• The AUD traded near US$0.6566, modestly firmer on the day as the USD paused with US data flow curtailed by the shutdown.
  
   

US backdrop: shutdown, sentiment, and earnings

The government shutdown rolled into day 9, keeping parts of the data calendar thin. That’s why the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment read tonight (AEST) has more bite than usual; it’s a proxy for how households are digesting inflation, labour markets, and rate-cut expectations. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is still planning to publish September CPI by month-end, which should settle any near-term debate about the Fed’s next steps.

Closer in, Q3 earnings kick off in earnest next week with the big US banks—JPMorgan, Citigroup and peers. Analysts are bracing for softer top-lines where tariffs and a slower deal pipeline might nibble, but the micro focus will be credit quality, deposit costs, and capital returns. For Australia, the read-through isn’t 1:1, but a clean US bank season tends to keep global risk appetite anchored—good for our banks and for cyclical sectors sensitive to global growth.

Today’s ASX sector stories—quick takes

• Tech: Leadership again. With volatility low and the US AI trade still intact, local investors keep paying for visible growth and “picks-and-shovels” exposure to data and semis.
• Banks: A mild tailwind from a steeper global curve earlier in the week and the RBA’s steady tone. The ASX 200 Banks sub-index up 0.67% speaks to positioning rather than a fresh macro story.
• Miners: It’s about the tape: gold off highs, copper softer, and energy flat. The Resources index down 1.43% feels like standard commodity beta rather than a thesis change.
• Defensives: Health care and staples both positive, consistent with a market that’s digesting headlines rather than chasing them.
  
   

What could move the close?

Three things to watch into the afternoon and into tonight’s US trade:

• Commodity follow-through: If gold and copper stabilise, miners could trim losses; further drift would likely keep Materials under pressure.
• Bank strength: With the local banks green and US banks reporting next week, fund flows may keep the bid alive into the close.
• US futures and Michigan sentiment: A steady futures session and an upbeat sentiment print would support a firmer risk tone into our Monday open.
  
   

Today looks like a reset day: low vol, modest rotation, and a market that’s waiting on US earnings and data clarity rather than trying to front-run them. If you’re new to markets, the simplest takeaway is this—Wall Street sets the weather, commodities decide the temperature for Aussie miners, and the RBA keeps the wind manageable. Right now, all three are cooperating just enough to keep the ASX near its highs, even on a flat day.