Australian shares end flat on final full trading day; miners weigh

Australian shares ended flat on Tuesday, the market’s final full trading session of year, as investors booking profits in miners and gold stocks offset gains in financials in holiday-thin trading.

The S&P/ASX 200 index finished 0.1% lower at 8,717.1 points, on track for a third straight annual rise.

Turnover was roughly 40% of the benchmark’s 30-day average with Wednesday’s session due to be shortened on account of New Years’ Eve.

Still, the ASX 200’s 6.9% year-to-date gain pales against global peers, underscoring a lacklustre year outside metals and miners.

The S&P 500 surged 17%, Canada’s TSX jumped 29%, Euro Stoxx added 17%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Japan’s Nikkei soared over 27%, highlighting how Australian equities have lagged in a year dominated by tech and cyclical plays elsewhere.

“We’re selectively bullish into 2026. Earnings growth should be the primary driver rather than broad multiple expansion, given elevated valuations,” said Marc Jocum, Senior Product and Investment Strategist at Global X ETFs.

A key psychological threshold to watch is the 9,000 level on the ASX 200, representing the prior all-time high from October, which could act as a magnet if earnings momentum persists, Jocum added.

On the day, miners lost 1.1%, with gold stocks retreating from record highs and dropping 2.2%.

The mining index fell for a second consecutive session as traders booked profits after the sub-index rallied for multiple sessions last week.

BHP fell 0.8%. Bucking the trend, Rio Tinto and Fortescue added 0.2% each.

However, the gold sub-index remains the stand-out performer of 2025, more than doubling in value and heading for its best year on record.

In Sydney, financials bounced back after two sessions in red, rising 0.4%.

The big-four banks added between 0.1% and 0.5%, respectively.

Investors now look to Australia’s January run of macro reads - inflation, the household spending indicator, and labour force report - ahead of the next policy decision in February.

New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index ended up 0.2% at 13,548.13 in the session.