Stock Market - Australia - January 2025

A new record high close for the ASX 200!

And so soon after December's sea of doubt (and accompanying sea of red ink!).

For the week, the ASX 200 finished up 123.4 points or 1.47% higher. For the month, the ASX 200 finished up 373.2 points or 4.57% higher.

Things have never been better for Aussie stocks and Aussie investors. But can the good times last? We'll investigate in tonight's Evening Wrap, so...

The S&P/ASX 200 (XJO) finished 38.6 points higher at 8,532.3, nearly smack-bang at the mid-point of the session, 0.45% from its low and 0.41% from its high. Despite the indecision shown by that mid-point close on the benchmark, in the broader-based S&P/ASX 300 (XKO), advancers beat decliners by a resounding 203 to 79.

For the week, the XJO finished up 123.4 points or 1.47% higher, 1.74% from its intraweek low and just 0.41% from its intraweek high. For the month, the XJO finished up 373.2 points or 4.57% higher, 4.73% from its intramonth low and just 0.41% from its intramonth high.

On the topic of monthly performance, at least one major media outlet incorrectly stated that January was the best month for Aussie stocks since July. This is not the case because Aussie stocks pay dividends. Add those back, and January was the best month for Aussie stocks since November – so not that long at all!

But, we should not downplay how good a month January was – particularly considering how bad December was – and particularly considering that December's aren't supposed to be bad. My tip is that we dodged a major bullet this month, I had feared after December's rout that this month could have been much, much worse.

Source: ASX

1. Australia LNG - https://www.rttnews.com/3507870/origin-energy-dec-quarter-australia-pacific-lng-revenue-up-14-cuts-fy25-lng-production-view.aspx
2. Australia Iron-Ore - https://www.steelradar.com/en/haber/minres-increases-iron-ore-shipments-but-risk-of-lower-global-demand-continues/
3. Australia lithium - https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/the-major-advancements-taking-place-in-australias-mining-industry/55043/
4. Australia GDP - https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2025/01/when-will-australias-recession-end/
5. Australia innovation - https://createdigital.org.au/australia-become-innovation-superpower/
6. Productivity / Competitiveness -- https://www.cmewa.com.au/media-release/articles/cme-federal-pre-budget-submission-maps-out-overdue-return-to-productivity-growth/
7. Food security - https://www.rabobank.com.au/media-releases/2025/australian-agriculture-well-placed-to-master-the-year-ahead-rabobank-annual-outlook
8. Cost of living - https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/if-you-get-the-sense-inflation-is-a-little-off-you-re-probably-right-20250130-p5l8gm.html
9. Generative AI - https://starthub.asia/ai-growth-outpaces-skills-acquisition-in-australia/
10. Housing - https://thenightly.com.au/business/australian-housing-rebound-in-sight-as-building-costs-fall-for-the-first-time-in-five-years--c-17567622

Paul Young is a former IBM Customer Success Manager. Paul has deployed over 300 data and AI solutions across industry and geography. Paul was part of IBM team that led Planning Analytics SAAS adoption starting in 2016 until to January 2023.

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