ASX Market Update Tech and banks lift the tone as Wall Street rides TSMC’s AI boosta

Key highlights

• ASX 200 rises 0.34% to 8,892.2, with Tech (+1.33%) and Financials (+0.89%) leading midday gains
• Appen, DroneShield and uranium names feature among standouts, while New Murchison Gold leads the fallers list
• Wall Street steadied as TSMC’s profit jump and bigger 2026 spending plan revived AI and chip momentum
• Gold eases and oil holds firm as traders weigh geopolitics, while market volatility remains subdued
  
   

ASX pushed higher into the early afternoon, with the S&P/ASX 200 up 0.34% at 8,892.2 and the All Ordinaries also up 0.35% at 9,216.3. The market’s tone was constructive, but it was not a broad-based surge. This was a session defined by clear leadership from technology and banks, and a more mixed picture across resources and defensives.

The standout message from the screen was simple: when tech is moving and banks are contributing, the index usually finds a firmer footing. That is exactly what played out.

Tech takes the wheel, banks add ballast

The All Technology Index rose 0.74% to 3,367.7, while the sector tape showed Information Technology up 1.33%, the best-performing sector at the time of the snapshot. Financials were not far behind, with Financials up 0.89% and the ASX 200 Banks index up 0.80% to 4,026.7.

This pattern matters because it is not just “risk-on.” It is a specific kind of risk appetite: growth-sensitive technology paired with earnings-heavy banks. When those two move together, it often signals that the market is comfortable with the near-term macro backdrop, even if global headlines remain noisy.

Other sectors were positive but less influential, including Staples (+0.92%), Real Estate (+0.89%), and Telecommunication (+0.60%). On the softer side, Health Care (-0.43%) and Energy (-0.08%) were weaker, while Materials (-0.26%) also lagged.

The scoreboard: winners and laggards

Among the day’s stronger names , Beacon Minerals (BCN) rose 11.05% to $4.12, while Appen (APX) climbed 9.22% to $1.125 in a session where tech sentiment was clearly supportive.

Defense and thematic growth also had representation. DroneShield (DRO) gained 7.84% to $4.40, while uranium-linked stocks appeared frequently: Deep Yellow (DYL) up 7.75% to $2.155, Bannerman Energy (BMN) up 6.69% to $3.83, and Paladin Energy (PDN) up 5.76% to $11.285. 

On the downside, New Murchison Gold (NMG) fell 6.15% to $0.061, leading the fallers list. Several energy transition and small resource names were also weaker, including Immutep (IMM) -4.95% to $0.4325, Galan Lithium (GLN) -4.49% to $0.3725, Lake Resources (LKE) -4.35% to $0.11, and Core Lithium (CXO) -4.17% to $0.2875.

Gold was marginally weaker, the resources index was down, and lithium names were soft. Strength was more concentrated in tech, banks, and selected thematic pockets.

Global lead: Wall Street steadier after TSMC’s update reignites the chip complex

US markets offered a supportive lead. S&P 500 gained 0.26%, and the Nasdaq added 0.25%. That upside had a narrative spine: semiconductors and AI-linked exposures recovered after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing delivered a strong quarterly report.

Here is the part many market wrap-ups gloss over, but it matters if you want the story to feel real: TSMC did not just “beat expectations.” It told the market that the AI build-out remains strong enough to justify a big new investment cycle.

TSMC reported a 35% jump in net profit for the October to December quarter, with revenue up 21% to more than 1.046 trillion new Taiwan dollars, and it flagged a capital spending plan of up to US$56 billion for 2026, up from about US$40 billion previously. That combination of profit momentum plus a larger spending envelope is why the market took the update as a fresh signal that AI demand is still translating into real dollars, not just headlines.

In the US session described in your notes, TSMC shares surged more than 4%, and the positive spillover was immediate: Nvidia and AMD rebounded, helping lift broader tech sentiment.

This is also why it is more accurate to say: the chip complex regained momentum after TSMC’s update, which then lifted broader sentiment in AI and semiconductor-linked exposures. It was not a vague “bellwether bounce.” It was a data-backed reset of confidence in the AI supply chain.

A fresh US–Taiwan trade pact also fed into the bullish chip narrative, with Taiwanese chip and technology groups flagging at least US$250 billion in planned investment tied to expanding manufacturing capacity in the United States. Strip away the politics and the market takeaway is simple: when capital is committed to building more onshore supply, it reduces uncertainty around future chip availability and delivery timelines. That kind of visibility is exactly what tends to lift confidence across the AI supply chain and, by extension, the mega-cap tech names most leveraged to it.

At the same time, markets remain alert to the political pressure around monetary policy. Your notes point to concerns about the Federal Reserve’s independence, and the ongoing legal friction around Chair Jerome Powell. This matters because it injects a different kind of risk: not earnings risk or growth risk, but institutional credibility risk, which can show up quickly in currency markets and safe havens.

Commodities and FX: gold softer today, oil steady, Aussie dollar stable

In commodities, the tape was relatively calm at the time of your snapshot. Brent crude was effectively flat at US$63.75, WTI was up 0.13% to US$59.27, and copper was slightly lower. Gold slipped 0.33% to US$4,600.34, while silver held steady around US$91.11.

Currency moves were modest, with the Australian dollar buying US$0.6701, essentially flat on the day. In other words, this was not a session driven by a major FX shock. It was a risk appetite session, led by equities, with commodities mostly playing a secondary role.

Domestic pulse: travel flows and hospitality show life

Two local datapoints offered a useful real-economy frame.

First, Australia’s international arrivals increased 8.4% year on year in November to about 1.85 million, with visitor arrivals up 19.5% compared to November 2024. The top origins were New Zealand, the UK, and China. In isolation this is not a market-moving print, but it helps explain why travel-adjacent and service sectors stay on watchlists heading into 2026.

Second, MYOB’s latest figures suggested a lift in hospitality momentum: anonymised hospitality EFT transactions in December 2025 were 24% above the annual monthly average baseline, and the sector outperformed the broader economy for the first time in three years. MYOB CEO Paul Robson framed it as a meaningful shift, noting that December’s performance “marks a shift” and hints consumers may be more willing to spend, even if pressures remain for many businesses.

What to watch next

Bank earnings and policy expectations in the US, where the rate path remains sensitive to both inflation and politics.

 

Commodity direction, particularly whether oil stays contained and whether gold remains a preferred hedge amid institutional uncertainty headlines.
 

Tech has done the heavy lifting, banks have supported the index, and the market’s volatility gauge continues to signal a relatively calm near-term outlook. The next question is whether that calm persists if global politics tries to reclaim the narrative.