‘Wild ride’: Lacklustre end for ASX 200 following tumultuous year
Shares on the ASX traded largely flat as the last trading day of the year ended.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 2.80 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 8714.30 at 2pm AEDT close on Wednesday, signaling a weaker final trading day for 2025.
A weak performance overnight in major US benchmark indices, combined with low liquidity in the year-end environment, led to a less-than-stellar close to market trading.
Markets closed early on Wednesday and will be closed on New Year’s Day, along with Wall Street, which was closed on Thursday.
The Australian dollar remained unchanged at 67 US cents.
As the year drew to a close, industrial sectors once again presented a mixed bag, with five of the 11 sectors in the red and six in the green.
The best-performing industrial sectors included energy, up 0.75 percent, followed by materials, up 0.55 percent, and information technology, up 0.47 percent.
These gains were offset by losses in financials, which fell 0.38 percent, consumer discretionary, which fell 0.31 percent, and healthcare, which fell 0.25 percent.
OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong said the results were “mixed”.
“Overall, the ASX 200’s medium-term uptrend phase remains intact as it continues to trade above its 200-day moving average, with around 8550 acting as a key support level,” he told NewsWire.
Of the top 200 companies, 112 were in the red as of December 31; 79 reported that their shares increased, while the remaining nine remained unchanged.
The top performer was Energy Resources of Australia Ltd, up 20 per cent to trade at 0.3 cents, followed by Star Entertainment Group Ltd, up 12.5 per cent to 18 cents per share.
On the other hand, the lowest performer was Investigator Silver Ltd, down 9.38 percent at 14.5c, followed by Lake Resources NL, down 7.69 percent at 12c.
The ‘boring’ end of an ‘extraordinary’ year
Gemma Dale, director of SMSF and investor behavior at NAB, said the market move was a “dull conclusion to an extraordinary year”.
“The ASX200 closed the year at just under seven per cent when you include dividends. It’s not that far off from an average return,” he said.
In February, which was a turbulent and tumultuous year for investors, there was a “market shock” when US President Donald Trump sent shockwaves around the world by announcing 25 percent tariffs on numerous countries.
“Then we had Independence Day; the volumes were through the roof,” he said.
“We found that markets had to be closed because they were gapping offshore too aggressively.”
He said that the reaction from the markets was remarkable.
“We have seen quite extraordinary reactions to what could be a catastrophic collapse in global trade,” Ms Dale said.
“The markets are starting to pick up again and everyone’s had a really good year, so we’re not panicking out there.”
After unstable markets for most of the year, investors turned their backs on precious metals in some sectors.
“Gold is supposed to be the defensive part of your portfolio,” Ms. Dale told NewsWire.
“It had to be a piece that could hold up when everything fell apart.”
Gold prices increased by 65 percent and silver prices increased by 150 percent in the year.
Ms Dale said the market’s year-end result was a welcome sight amid months of chaos.
“(The year) ended on a dull note, but there was definitely a wild ride in the middle,” he told NewsWire.
