ASX Today: What to Know Before the Australian Stock Market Opens (18 December 2025)
Australian shares are heading into Thursday’s open with a fragile global backdrop and a market that’s looking for a reason to stabilise after three straight sessions of declines. Pre-market pricing is essentially flat to slightly weaker, with SPI/ASX 200 futures hovering around unchanged to modestly down depending on the time you check—pointing to a cautious start rather than a decisive gap higher or lower. Market Index+1 That “tight” pre-open call matters because sentiment is being pulled in opposite directions: US tech weakness and elevated risk aversion on one side, firmer commodities on the other. The result is a market that could open quietly—then pick a direction quickly once sector rotations start showing up in early trading. Market Index+1