Buckle up, investors – Wall Street just skyrocketed thanks to Amazon's jaw-dropping earnings surge, but the ASX is playing it cool ahead of Westpac's big reveals and the RBA's crucial rate call!
Even with a few Federal Reserve officials voicing some cautious words, the US markets wrapped up the week on a high note, largely propelled by Amazon's shares leaping nearly 10% after posting stellar results that beat expectations, especially in their cloud computing arm.
Meanwhile, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is gearing up for what might be a slightly softer start today, as it braces for Westpac's annual earnings report and tomorrow's Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) interest rate announcement. These events could stir the pot in a big way for local investors.
Stay tuned right here for real-time financial updates and expert insights from our dedicated business journalists on this live blog. Remember, we're just keeping you in the loop – this isn't meant as personalized investment guidance.
Disclaimer: This blog is not intended as investment advice. Always consult professionals before making financial decisions.
Key Updates
8 minutes ago, Sunday, November 2, 2025, at 8:51 PM
17 minutes ago, Sunday, November 2, 2025, at 8:42 PM
24 minutes ago, Sunday, November 2, 2025, at 8:35 PM
Pinned
1 hour ago, Sunday, November 2, 2025, at 7:51 PM
Quick Market Overview
By Stephen Letts
- ASX 200 futures: Down 0.1% to 8,887 points
- Australian dollar: Down 0.1% to 65.37 US cents
- Wall Street (Friday): S&P 500 up 0.3%, Dow up 0.1%, Nasdaq up 0.5%
- Europe (Friday): Dax down 0.7%, FTSE down 0.4%, Eurostoxx down 0.5%
- Spot gold (Friday): Down 0.5% to US$4,002 per ounce
- Brent crude (Friday): Up 0.1% to US$65.07 per barrel
- Iron ore (Friday): Unchanged at US$106.50 per tonne
- Bitcoin: Down 0.3% at US$110,074
Prices as of approximately 7:00 AM AEDT
Major Development
8 minutes ago, Sunday, November 2, 2025, at 8:51 PM
Westpac Offloads RAMS Mortgage Portfolio for a Whopping $21 Billion
By Stephen Letts
Westpac has inked a deal to transfer its RAMS home loan portfolio to a group led by Pepper Money, along with heavyweight US firms KKR and PIMCO, fetching a total of $21.4 billion. In their filing with the ASX, Westpac noted that this price represents a modest premium over the portfolio's gross book value. CEO Anthony Miller explained that this move builds on their previous decision to shut down RAMS for new customers back in August 2024, aiming to simplify the bank's structure.
"This deal will markedly streamline our home loan operations, cut down on operational expenses, and grant us more strategic options moving forward," Miller remarked. Plus, it should boost Westpac's top-tier 1 capital ratio by roughly 20 basis points. The transaction is slated to wrap up in the latter half of 2026, and in the interim, Westpac remains committed to providing full support to existing RAMS borrowers.
Major Development
17 minutes ago, Sunday, November 2, 2025, at 8:42 PM
Westpac Reports Robust $7 Billion Annual Profit
By Stephen Letts
Westpac has announced a solid net profit of $6.9 billion for the full year. Their cash profit for the fiscal year, stripping out exceptional items, stood at $7 billion – that's a 2% dip from the previous year but just edged out analyst predictions. The bank is also declaring a full-year dividend of $1.53 per share, a slight 1% increase over the 2024 payout.
Major Development
24 minutes ago, Sunday, November 2, 2025, at 8:35 PM
Bank Earnings Season Kicks Off with Westpac Leading the Charge
By Stephen Letts
The recent bank reporting period was a rollercoaster, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) shares tumbling 5% despite delivering as promised, while Westpac's stock surged 6% after unexpectedly widening their margin. But here's where it gets controversial – what does this volatility really say about investor sentiment in the banking sector? Is it a sign of overreaction, or are there deeper issues at play?
Looking ahead, analysts are optimistic, forecasting solid performances from the big banks. J.P. Morgan's Andrew Triggs pointed out in a client note last week: "We anticipate the major banks will show healthy revenue growth, fueled by rising lending volumes and stable net interest margins."
That said, he cautioned that one-time expenses will affect cost figures. "Capital positions might vary, but credit quality should remain mostly stable," Triggs added.
Westpac is up first today, with expectations of around $6.8 billion in cash profit – a roughly 2% decline from last year. The lineup continues with National Australia Bank (NAB) on Thursday, Macquarie Group's first-half 2026 results on Friday, and more.
Last week, ANZ revealed that their profits would take a hit from various one-off charges totaling $1.1 billion after tax – including the ASIC settlement and redundancy costs, which were mostly already disclosed. This led Triggs to trim his cash profit estimate for ANZ by 7%, from $6.3 billion to $5.8 billion. "Most of these extra charges are goodwill impairments, which won't touch capital ratios," he noted.
UBS analyst John Storey highlighted that the banks' third-quarter updates were more positive than their first-half ones, positioning them well for the year's back half. He emphasized that efficient cost control and margin preservation could lead to upside surprises.
"Key drivers for bank results might include efficiency improvements and steady net interest margins amid reduced competition," Storey explained. With CBA already reporting $10.3 billion in full-year cash profits, the big four's combined cash earnings last year hit about $30.6 billion. So far this year, the banking index has climbed over 17%, far outpacing the ASX 200's 10% gain.
Bank Reporting Schedule:
- November 3: Westpac Annual Results, Expected Cash Profit: $6.8 billion
- November 6: NAB Annual Results, Expected Cash Profit: $7.2 billion
- November 7: Macquarie First Half 2026, Expected Half-Year Profit: $1.9 billion
- November 10: ANZ Annual Results, Expected Cash Profit: $6.4 billion (before last week's update)
- November 11: CBA First Quarter Update
- November 11: Bendigo & Adelaide First Quarter Update
35 minutes ago, Sunday, November 2, 2025, at 8:24 PM
Wall Street Rises on Amazon's Strength, ASX Remains Steady
By Stephen Letts
It's that familiar tune again – Wall Street's main indexes ended the week in the green. The boost came primarily from Amazon's stock rocketing almost 10% following earnings that exceeded forecasts and a bullish outlook, particularly for their cloud division.
The Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq each advanced by 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.6%, respectively. Yet, the atmosphere wasn't all celebration, as a pair of Fed officials offered a dose of realism on potential rate reductions soon. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic indicated that a December cut isn't guaranteed, despite market bets, while Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack expressed opposition to the recent cut due to persistent inflation concerns.
By Friday, markets were assigning a 65% chance to a December rate cut, down from 73% the day before and 92% a week earlier, per CME Group's FedWatch tool.
"Today's pattern mirrors yesterday's: earnings slightly surpassing expectations, but balanced by more cautious Fed signals," D.A. Davidson Chief Investment Officer James Ragan shared with Reuters. Empiric LT Equity's Jake Seltz added that investors might have been "too aggressive" in anticipating rate drops.
Over the month, the S&P 500 rose 2.3%, matching Europe's 2.2% gain, while the ASX lagged with just 0.4% – all dwarfed by Japan's Nikkei, which surged an impressive 16.6% in October.
The US dollar strengthened against its major trading partners. The Aussie dollar softened a bit but still added 0.5% over the week, even as the greenback generally dominated.
Gold dipped slightly amid Fed uncertainty, just clinging above US$4,000 per ounce. Oil ticked up on rumors of potential US military action against Venezuela – though nothing has materialized yet. Meanwhile, OPEC+ approved a small production hike for December but plans to halt further increases from January to March.
Bitcoin gained on Friday but fell 5% for the month – its first monthly decline in seven years.
1 hour ago, Sunday, November 2, 2025, at 7:49 PM
Greetings and Welcome
By Stephen Letts
Hello everyone, and welcome back to our ABC markets and finance live blog. I'm Stephen Letts from the ABC business team, ready to deliver play-by-play coverage of today's happenings – aiming for insightful posts, but remember, none of this is financial advice.
In essence, the local market seems paralyzed by anticipation leading up to the RBA's decision tomorrow. While US markets posted gains on Friday, ASX futures suggest a minor dip this morning (-0.056%) – just a hair's breadth from being flat.
We've got some buzz this morning: Westpac is set to unveil its full-year figures before trading opens, with analysts expecting a cash net profit of about $6.8 billion.
October's home price data is out, showing a 1.1% rise across the eight capital cities, up from September's 0.9% increase.
Later today, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will release September's Building Approvals and Household Spending Indicator figures.
As always, the action is underway – let's dive in!
And this is the part most people miss – how do these global market shifts really impact everyday Australians? Do you believe Wall Street's Amazon-fueled rally signals broader economic recovery, or is it masking underlying risks? What about the RBA's upcoming rate decision – will it spark controversy in the banking world? Share your opinions and debates in the comments below – we'd love to hear your take!
