Market update: 25 March 2025
The ASX 200 had its best week of 2025 so far, climbing 1.8% as markets rebounded from oversold conditions in the absence of new tariff headlines. All 11 sectors closed in the green, led by Consumer Staples (+3.9%) after the ACCC’s supermarket inquiry found no clear evidence of price gouging. This drove strong rallies in Woolworths (+6.3%) and Coles (+4.9%) on Friday. Elevated volumes at week’s end were driven by index rebalancing and options expiries. Although the jobs data was weaker than expected, with a loss of 53,000 jobs in February, the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, alleviating concerns about any immediate decline in the labour market.
US markets snapped a four-week losing streak, with the Dow Jones up 1.2%, the S&P 500 up 0.5%, and the Nasdaq up 0.2%. As expected, the Fed held rates steady at 4.25%–4.50%, with Chair Powell reassuring investors that any inflationary impacts from tariffs are likely to be “transitory”. Markets responded positively in the second half of the week, despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and large foreign outflows from US stocks. Inflows totalled US$34.1bn—the largest weekly figure for 2025 so far.
Elsewhere, global markets were mixed. European equities ended higher, with central banks holding rates steady and Germany approving a major debt-financed spending package. In Greater China, markets retreated as profit-taking set in, despite strong economic data and government plans to boost consumption. The Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite ended the week down 1.1% and 1.6%, respectively. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.7%, buoyed by strong wage growth and a steady policy stance from the Bank of Japan, which signalled further hikes could be on the table. Stay tuned—we’ll continue to track how policy and market sentiment evolve in the weeks ahead.
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