ASX 200 Today: Australian Shares Close 0.2% Higher at 9,146.8 as Xero Jumps 8.64%
The S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.2% at 9,146.8 on Thursday as Xero jumped 8.64% and Cochlear and ResMed gained, while Aristocrat fell 5.9%.
Australian shares edged higher on Thursday, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing up 0.2% at 9,146.8 as a surge in Xero and gains for healthcare names offset losses in Aristocrat Leisure and lithium miner PLS Group. The index added 17.8 points on the day after finishing the previous session at 9,129.
The modest advance came as most major Asian markets drifted lower in the afternoon, and as the Australian dollar eased against the US dollar.
Xero leads, Aristocrat drags
Accounting software group Xero was the standout, rising 8.64% to A$76.98. Medical device maker Cochlear gained 2.89% to A$155.07, and sleep-apnoea specialist ResMed added 2.35% to A$34.665, giving the index a defensive-growth lift.
On the downside, gaming machine maker Aristocrat Leisure fell 5.9% to A$62. PLS Group slid 4.52% to A$2.96 and AGL Energy dropped 3.24% to A$8.95, so the session had a clear split between technology and healthcare on one side and lithium, energy retail and gaming on the other.
Where the index stands
At 9,146.8 the ASX 200 sits within its 52-week range of 8,365.9 to 9,271.6. The benchmark is up 4.13% over the past month and 4.96% so far this year, so the market remains in a firm uptrend even if Thursday's move was small.
The close followed a strong night on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 rose 1.31% and the Nasdaq 1.6% as chipmakers Micron, Marvell and Arm jumped. That risk appetite did not carry through to Asia on Thursday afternoon: the Nikkei 225 was down 0.89% at 60,704.71, Hong Kong's Hang Seng had fallen 1.04% to 24,063.09 and the Shanghai Composite was off 0.39% at 3,649.58. Singapore's Straits Times index was little changed, up 0.04% at 5,291.64.
Currency and commodities
The Australian dollar slipped 0.2% to 0.6838 against the US dollar, a move that matters for exporters and for the translation of offshore earnings. The US dollar index was at 102.997, up 0.09%.
Resource prices were mostly softer, which is relevant for a bourse with heavy exposure to miners and energy producers. Copper fell 1.07% to US$6.223 a pound, silver lost 0.99% to US$51.49 an ounce and gold eased 0.18% to US$3,979.75 an ounce. Brent crude was close to unchanged at US$92.64 a barrel, down 0.13%.
Gold and copper both moved lower while the index finished higher, a reminder that Thursday's gains came from industrials, technology and healthcare rather than from the big resource names.
Regional picture
Jakarta's Composite Index closed up 1.99% at 5,227.495 and the LQ45 rose 2.49%, a stronger session than most of the region. Mumbai's Sensex was up 0.18% at 82,023.82. In Europe, the FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40 all closed higher on Wednesday, and the US 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.998%, a level that continues to shape pricing for growth stocks such as Xero.
US futures pointed to a softer start on Thursday: S&P 500 futures were down 0.42% at 7,608.5 and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.98% at 28,193.75, while Dow futures were up 0.05% at 52,604. The VIX closed Wednesday at 17.49, down 10.12%.
What to watch next
Attention turns to Wall Street's Thursday session, with Applied Materials and Cisco due to report after the close. The results could set the tone for chip and networking names ahead of Nvidia's report on 17 November, and for the Australian technology and data-centre-linked stocks that trade in sympathy overnight.
For Australian investors, the next test is whether the ASX 200 can build on its one-month gain and approach the upper end of its 52-week range, or whether softer metals prices and a firmer US dollar cap the advance. The Australian dollar and copper are the two prices most likely to move local resource stocks on Friday.
Market data is delayed and provided for information only.
Markets at a glance
| Market | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASX 200 | 9,146.8 | +17.8 | +0.20% |
| Nikkei 225 | 60,705 | −544 | −0.89% |
| Hang Seng | 24,063 | −253 | −1.04% |
| Shanghai Comp. | 3,649.58 | −14.14 | −0.39% |
| AUD/USD | 0.6838 | −0.0014 | −0.20% |
| Gold (spot) | 3,979.75 | −7.28 | −0.18% |
| Copper | 6.223 | −0.067 | −1.07% |
| Brent | 92.64 | −0.12 | −0.13% |
Data as of 12 Nov 2026, 13:20 WIB (06:20 GMT). Source: JournalArta Markets (Yahoo Finance, Twelve Data); some exchange data may be delayed up to 15 minutes. Follow live prices on JournalArta Markets. This article is for information only and is not investment advice.
