Markets Today (31 October 2025) at Open: Key Trends from Wall Street to ASX

1. ASX Outlook-

Let’s start with home — the ASX 200 Index, which tracks the 200 largest companies on the Australian Stock Exchange. It’s currently at 8,925.8 points, up 40.3 points or +0.45%. Market is open and trading positively as of now, mainly driven by stronger commodity prices, especially gold.

2. Overnight US Markets:

U.S. markets were down, and that’s important because they often set the tone for global markets.

1. S&P 500 fell 0.99%
2. Dow Jones slipped 0.23%
3. NASDAQ dropped 1.57%
4. Russell 2000 (smaller companies) lost 0.76%

Mainly due to declines in tech and communication sectors.

3. US Sector Performance

Winners:

1. Real Estate: +0.64%
2. Financials: +0.32%

Losers:

1. Information Technology: -1.41%
2. Communication Services: -2.14%
3. Consumer Discretionary: -2.56%

Defensive sectors like real estate and healthcare held up, while growth and tech stocks got hit hardest. This is a common pattern when investors get cautious.

4. Commodities

 Commodities often guide the ASX since Australia has a large resource sector

1. Gold jumped 2.38% to USD 4,024, breaking above the key $4,000 level. That’s a strong move and supports gold miners on the ASX.
2. Copper fell 1.88%, signaling some weakness in industrial demand, often tied to manufacturing or China’s activity.
3. Oil (WTI) dipped 0.29% to USD 60.29, fairly stable.

Precious metals strong, industrial metals weak — which means gold miners may rise, but mining and energy stocks could lag a bit.

5. What to Watch Today (ASX Focus)

Two major themes to keep an eye on:

Gold

Gold had a sizeable overnight bounce, up around 2%.

• It’s now above US$4,000, a key psychological level.
• The Gold Miners ETF (GDX) was also up 2.3%, though still about 15% off its highs — showing ongoing volatility.

This means Australian gold mining stocks like Newcrest or Northern Star may perform well today.

Rare Earths

There’s also a note on rare earth stocks.

• Following Trump’s trade deal with China, these stocks have been under pressure — many down 30–50% from their highs.
• That weakness could continue, affecting companies like Lynas.

6. Broker Move:

Quick wrap of broker updates, which can move individual stocks:

• Champion Iron: Downgraded to Hold from Buy – target price raised to $5.65 (from $5.40) by BP.
• Lynas: Upgraded to Neutral from Underweight – target up to $15.00 (from $13.00) by JPMorgan.
• IGO: Downgraded to Sell from Neutral – target cut to $5.20 from $5.35 by UBS.
• Objective Corp: New coverage, rated Overweight with $25 target (Morgan Stanley).
• Ramelius Resources, Service Stream, and Ventia Services all initiated with Buy ratings by UBS, with targets $4.00, $2.80, and $6.23, respectively.

These ratings suggest brokers are positive on some smaller industrial and resource names, but cautious on iron ore and battery metal stocks.

7. Stocks Trading Ex-Dividend:

1. MA Credit Income Trust (MA1) – $0.014
2. Metrics Income Opportunities Trust (MOT) – $0.012
3. Metrics Master Income Trust (MXT) – $0.013
4. Metrics Real Estate Multi-Strategy Fund (MRE) – $0.008

These are mostly income-focused investment trusts, so no big impact on the broader market.

Our take at Kapitales Research:

• ASX 200 is up +0.45%, showing local strength despite U.S. weakness.
• Gold’s big move above $4,000 is the main story today — watch the gold miners.
• U.S. markets were weak, especially tech and discretionary sectors.
• Rare earths may stay under pressure from U.S.–China trade news.
• Brokers are mixed: some downgrades in mining, but fresh buys in smaller caps

Cautious optimism locally, driven by gold and financials.

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