16 December 2025

The Australia 200 trades 59 points (-0.69%) lower at 8575 as of 3.30 AEDT.

ASX 200 falls as Asian markets slide ahead of US jobs report

The Australia 200 (ASX 200) has been caught up in a tidal wave of selling across Asian equity markets today, following falls on Wall Street overnight and ahead of tomorrow morning’s pivotal United States (US) jobs report, which was delayed by the government shutdown.

Paradoxically, the US jobs report needs to display unambiguous signs of labour market softness to sustain current expectations for the Federal Reserve (Fed) to deliver two 25 basis point (bp) rate cuts through 2026. A resilient jobs reading, conversely, could prompt markets to pare back those dovish bets and add downward pressure on US bond and stock markets.

Compounding the regional weakness, yesterday's underwhelming slate of Chinese economic indicators – highlighting persistent challenges in the world’s second-largest economy – further dampened sentiment toward China and the region.

Rounding out today’s testing session, Australia’s Westpac Consumer Sentiment survey plunged 9% in December to 94.5. While a decline was broadly expected following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decision to hold rates at 3.60% last week with a distinctly hawkish tone, the fall was much larger than expected and has sent the index well back below the 100 mark, where pessimists outnumber optimists.

ASX 200 stocks

Energy sector

The ASX 200 energy sector also slumped as crude oil hit an eight-week low overnight of $56.40. The decline was driven primarily by renewed optimism surrounding Ukraine peace negotiations following talks in Berlin, which raised the prospect of increased Russian oil supply returning to the market.

• Woodside Energy slid 2.44% to $23.96
• Beach Energy lost 2.37% to $1.13
• Santos fell 2.24% to $6.10
• Viva Energy declined 1.60% to $2.15.

Materials sector

The ASX 200 materials sector slumped as concerns over its exposure to the Chinese economy overshadowed a 0.91% rise in iron ore futures to $102.45 during today’s session in Asia.

• Mineral Resources dropped 3.16% to $50.20
• Fortescue fell 2.8% to $22.10
• BHP edged 0.29% lower to $44.16
• Rio Tinto bucked the trend, climbing 0.12% to $140.10.

Technology sector

The ASX 200 information technology (IT) sector has mirrored moves on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq 100 has continued its underperformance.

• Life360 dived 6.2% to $32.58
• Zip lost 3.3% to $2.93
• Megaport fell 2.85% to $12.29
• Wisetech slid 2.48% to $68.76
• DroneShield bucked the trend, soaring 20.87% to $2.78 after winning a $50 million contract to supply counter-drone equipment to an existing European customer.

ASX 200 technical analysis

After reaching an all-time high of 9115 in mid-October, the ASX 200 hit a low of 8383 on 21 November for a 7.7% pullback, marking its deepest correction since April.

The ASX 200 then bounced 318 points (3.80%) into Friday’s 8701.8 high. The bounce has lacked impulsive qualities and instead displays corrective qualities, which suggests the rally is countertrend (similar to the corrective bounce in Bitcoin, which bottomed on the exact same day as the ASX 200 – 21 November).

With this in mind, should the ASX 200 break below recent lows at around 8560 and then see a sustained break below the 200-day moving average at 8529, it would indicate the corrective bounce is complete and open the way for a retest of the 8383 low. Until then, allow the rebound the benefit of the doubt.

ASX 200 daily chart

• _{Source: TradingView. The figures stated are as of 16 December 2025. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This report does not contain and is not to be taken as containing any financial product advice or financial product recommendation.}