ASX 200 Live Today - Wednesday, 26th November
The S&P/ASX 200 is set to open higher after US stocks rallied on rate cut hopes. Here are today's top stories.
Today’s ASX 200 Updates
Welcome to our live ASX coverage for Wednesday, November 26. We’re excited to be trialing this new format. Expect a high volume of posts pre-market and more periodic updates throughout the day. Be sure to refresh manually for the latest updates — and let us know how we can make it even better.
ASX stabilises, still up on the day
[12:01 pm] The ASX 200 has levelled out following the slight selloff on the latest inflation print. It's now up 0.76% today to 8,601.7 points.
But I think it's safe to say we won't be seeing lower rates anytime soon. Farewell rate cuts, we hardly knew thee.
It's possible rate hikes could seriously be back on the table in 2026 depending on how things go over the next few months.
That's all from us today, but we'll be back bright and early tomorrow.
ASX 200 sheds some gains on inflation data
[11:43 am] The ASX has trimmed its strong start to the day after the latest CPI showed annual inflation had risen to 3.8%.
The index has pulled back from 8,626 to 8,603 following the 11:30am announcement, leaving it up 0.78% in today's trading.
While the inflation figure is above market consensus, the remote chance of an upcoming RBA rate cut (which this release makes all but certain not to happen) has arguably already been priced in.
Inflation rises to 3.8%
[11:35 am] Australian inflation has risen again, according to the latest data just released by the ABS.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is at 3.8% for the 12-months to October, compared to 3.6% in the 12 months to September. The biggest contributors to the higher print were housing (up 5.9%), food and non-alcoholic beverages (up 3.2%) and recreation and culture (up 3.2%).
Trimmed mean inflation, the figure tracked by the RBA in making rate decisions, is up to 3.3% from 3.2%.
This is the first time the ABS has published a "complete" Monthly CPI, instead of the monthly CPI indicator it normally releases. It means the full basket of consumer goods, normally only included in the quarterly CPI, is now included in the monthly CPI number.
Analysts on Temple & Webster
[11:25 am] Analysts have assessed TPW's huge drop today as the result of it missing sales growth consensus expectations and a lack of reacceleration ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Despite announcing 18% YoY revenue growth, TPW is now down more than 29% today, after broker consensus expected 23% YoY growth and sees limited upside to margins going forward.
Electro Optic Systems up 10.5% despite ASIC issues
[11:14 am] Remote weapon systems maker Electro Optic has surged today after it admitted to breaching disclosure obligations relating to a huge decline in annual revenue forecasts in 2022.
As part of its settlement with ASIC, the company has agreed a proposed penalty of $4m. ASIC is separately suing former CEO and director Ben Greene for allegedly breaching his director duties as part of the same disclosure breach.
Since October 1, the EOS share price has crashed from $10.37 to as low as $4.45 before bouncing back to $4.85 today.
A tale of two tech giants
[11:03 am] More on the big developments from the US overnight. Shifting allegiances in the hotly-competitive AI sector have caused some big ripples in the Mag 7.
News reports that Meta is considering purchasing billions of dollars of Google AI chips saw Nvidia sell off 2.59% in Tuesday's trading, even as the major US indices all closed higher.
Alphabet (GOOG) is quietly making moves in the AI arms race, after the release of its latest AI model, Gemini 3, impressed last week. Meanwhile NVDA has continued to slide despite reporting highly impressive earnings.
It means Alphabet is also quietly catching up to Nvidia as the world's most valuable company. GOOG has surged 22% in the last month, while NVDA has fallen almost 7%.
ASX 200 shows breadth and strength
[10:48 am] The ASX has maintained its strong start to the day and is still up 1.11%, with 10 of 11 sectors showing positive growth, and the 11th (Telecommunications) merely flat. But that might change when the ABS releases October inflation data at 11:30am.
The ASX 200 has also demonstrated good breadth, with 152 of its companies in the green today.
ASX early winners and losers
[10:35 am] Here are the biggest runner and riders following market open this morning:
DroneShield continues to rally back, up 17%
[10:32 am] After a disastrous few weeks that saw DRO sell off a further 50%, the anti-drone company has bounced back further today after yesterday's announcement of a $5.2m European military contract.
Even still, it's a long way back to the top for the hero-turned-villain of the ASX after three directors dumped their shares earlier this month. DRO is now trading at $2.33, a fair way off its record price of $6.59 back in October.
National Storage halts trading
[10:21 am] As mentioned earlier, National Storage REIT is the subject of a consortium takeover bid and trading in NSR has now halted pending an announcement from the company regarding the takeover.
Huge selloff on Temple & Webster
[10:16 am] Despite reporting a 18% YoY jump in revenue, Temple & Webster has dumped 27% on market open.
It's now back at the same price as it was at the depths of April's Liberation Day correction, and down almost 50% from its all-time high in August.
ASX 200 opens higher
[10:08 am] The ASX 200 is trading up 1.01% to 8,626 points, as expected, after US markets rallied overnight on increased chances of a Fed rate cut in December.
Early movers include Fisher & Paykel (up 8.70%), Mesoblast (up 7.98%) and Zip Co (up 6.33%).
Consumer Discretionary and Real Estate are leading the charge on the sector front, with Energy the only sector in the red this morning so far.
Fisher & Paykel H1 update
[10:00 am] Fisher & Paykel Healthcare has issued its H1 earnings, reporting solid beats to revenue and NPAT:
Revenue at NZ$1.09bn (1.8% consensus beat)
NPAT at NZ$213m (7% beat)
It has also issued updated FY guidance, with NPAT up to NZ$410-460m from NZ$390-440m, but still within range of consensus expectations, and a slight tick up in revenue guidance.
Fed rate cut update
[9:45 am] I mentioned it earlier, but US markets have bounced on a dramatic turnaround in the odds of a US Fed rate cut on 10 December.
According to CME's FedWatch tool, the likelihood of a December cut is now 84%, up from 30% a week ago, after analysts jumped on comments from FOMC vice chair John Williams suggested he was open to a cut.
It means the ASX should open higher, and it will be interesting to see how it performs over the rest of the day, especially as we'll be getting the latest inflation data from the ABS later today.
National Storage takeover bid
[9:34 am] National Storage REIT is the subject of a multi-billion dollar takeover consortium bid from US investment firm Brookfield and Singapore's GIC.
According to news reports, the offer price will be pegged close to the company's net tangible asset value.
National Storage is one of the biggest providers of self-storage services to retail and commercial customers across Australia and New Zealand.
Competitor Abacus Storage has seen its share price jump 8% in early trading, presumably as a response to this takeover.
Temple & Webster Q1 revenue update
[9:26 am] Online furniture retailer Temple & Webster Group has reported 18% YoY growth in revenue from July 1 to November 20, and says it remains on track to deliver goal of $1bn in annual revenue.
It has also reaffirmed EBITDA margin forecasts of 3-5% and is set to go ahead with a planned share buy-back program.
Harvey Norman update
[9:15 am] Harvey Norman Holdings has reported a 9.1% YoY jump in YTD aggregated sales revenue with strong growth in European markets, including 123.6% YoY for the UK. Comparable aggregated sales were up 8.1% overall YoY.
VIX drops dramatically
[8:56 am] The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), which measures expected volatility of the S&P 500 and is also commonly considered a "fear gauge" for the US market, is down 9.55% today after US Fed rate cut odds improved.
Having spiked recently over growing AI bubble concerns and dashed hopes of a December rate cut, the VIX index is back to 18.55, suggesting investors may be calming down over perceived worries.
The index shot up to 60 following Trump's Liberation Day in April, and had mostly ranged until recently.
Good morning!
[8:30 am] S&P/ASX 200 futures are up 1.13% after US markets rallied overnight thanks to a dramatic reversal in market expectations of a December Fed rate cut.
Nvidia took a dive and Alphabet bounced after reports Meta is looking to spend big on Google AI chips.
If you’re new to the blog – catch up quick via today’s Morning Wrap.
