Overview
- The S&P/ASX 200 last closed at 8714.30, down 2.8 points, after an early New Year’s Eve finish and a New Year’s Day pause.
- Futures indicate an expected 0.36% drop at the open, with the Australian dollar steady near US66.73¢.
- Wall Street ended the year softer, with the S&P 500 down 0.7%, the Dow off 0.6%, and the Nasdaq lower by 0.8% on New Year’s Eve.
- For 2025, the S&P 500 rose 16.7% as major benchmarks in Britain, Japan, Germany, Canada and Hong Kong each gained more than 20%, and the MSCI All Country World Index climbed 21%.
- The ASX posted only marginal gains in 2025, lagging most developed markets and outperforming just a few, including New Zealand’s NZ50, which rose 3.7%.