Australia's main stock market index, the ASX200, fell to 8807 points on August 8, 2025, losing 0.27% from the previous session. Over the past month, the index has climbed 3.14% and is up 13.24% compared to the same time last year, according to trading on a contract for difference (CFD) that tracks this benchmark index from Australia. Australia Stock Market Index - values, historical data, forecasts and news - updated on August of 2025.

The S&P/ASX 200 index, the most prominent index of stocks listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), lost over one fifth of its value between the end of February and the end of March 2020, owing to the economic impact of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It has since recovered, and surpassed its pre-corona level in April 2021. Despite fluctuations, it reached its highest value in June 2025 at 8542.3 during this period.The S&P/ASX 200 index is considered the benchmark index for the Australian share market and contains the 200 largest companies listed on the ASX.

Australian Securities Exchange stock price, live market quote, shares value, historical data, intraday chart, earnings per share and news.

Key information about Australia S&P/ASX 200

• Australia S&P/ASX 200 closed at 8,172.4 points in Feb 2025, compared with 8,532.3 points at the previous month end
• Australia Equity Market Index: Month End: ASX: S&P/ASX 200 data is updated monthly, available from May 1992 to Feb 2025, with an average number of 4,604.3 points
• The data reached an all-time high of 8,532.3 points in Jan 2025 and a record low of 1,428.8 points in Oct 1992

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) is recognised as the investable benchmark for the Australian equity market, it addresses the needs of investment managers to benchmark against a portfolio characterised by sufficient size and liquidity. The S&P/ASX 200 is comprised of the S&P/ASX 100 plus an additional 100 stocks. It forms the basis for the S&P/ASX 200 Index Future and Options and the SPDR S&P/ASX 200 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)

Key information about Australia Market Capitalization

• Australia Market Capitalization accounted for 1,878.429 USD bn in Feb 2025, compared with a percentage of 1,953.275 USD bn in the previous month
• Australia Market Capitalization is updated monthly, available from Jan 1985 to Feb 2025
• The data reached an all-time high of 2,088.660 USD bn in Sep 2024 and a record low of 46.183 USD bn in Feb 1985

CEIC converts monthly Market Capitalization into USD. Australian Securities Exchange provides Market Capitalization in local currency. The Federal Reserve Board period end market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. Market Capitalization prior to January 2024 includes only domestically listed companies.

Prices for Australia Stock Market Index (AU50) including live quotes, historical charts and news. Australia Stock Market Index (AU50) was last updated by Trading Economics this August 9 of 2025.

Between January 2010 and June 2025, the total market capitalization of domestic companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) grew from **** trillion Australian dollars to **** trillion Australian dollars. While the overall trend was upward, the growth curve was far from linear. The two most notable periods of decline were from March to September 2011, and the crash of March 2020 caused by the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

ASX Market Capitalization data was reported at 2,902,032.000 AUD mn in Mar 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3,024,358.000 AUD mn for Feb 2025. ASX Market Capitalization data is updated monthly, averaging 2,902,032.000 AUD mn from Jan 2024 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3,129,246.000 AUD mn in Jan 2025 and a record low of 2,793,267.000 AUD mn in Dec 2024. ASX Market Capitalization data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Australian Securities Exchange. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.Z002: Australian Stock Exchange: Market Capitalization.

Stock market return (%, year-on-year) in Australia was reported at 19.3 % in 2021, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - Stock market return (%, year-on-year) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

During the firs quarter of 2025, the average daily trade value on the Australian equity market amounted to 8.5 billion Australian dollars. The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) has experienced significant growth and volatility in recent years, with daily trading values reaching unprecedented levels. In the first quarter of 2020, the average value of daily trades surged to over *** billion Australian dollars, a substantial increase from the previous quarter's *** billion. This spike, likely triggered by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, marked a turning point in market activity that persisted well beyond the initial shock.

Prices for Australia Stock Market Index (All Ordinaries Composite) including live quotes, historical charts and news. Australia Stock Market Index (All Ordinaries Composite) was last updated by Trading Economics this August 10 of 2025.

Market capitalization of listed domestic companies (current US$) in Australia was reported at 1737106310000 USD in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - Market capitalization of listed companies - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

While the average number of daily trades on Australian equity markets has generally increased since 2017, this growth has not been linear. From an average of *** million trades per day in the first quarter of 2017, this figure had increased to *********** trades per day by the first quarter of 2025. For all periods reported, between ** and ** percent of these trades were on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), with the remainder being on the Cboe platform, which is operated by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE).

Australia Market Capitalization: Listed Domestic Companies: % of GDP data was reported at 99.309 % in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 121.241 % for 2021. Australia Market Capitalization: Listed Domestic Companies: % of GDP data is updated yearly, averaging 86.140 % from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2022, with 44 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 151.848 % in 2007 and a record low of 21.400 % in 1982. Australia Market Capitalization: Listed Domestic Companies: % of GDP data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Financial Sector. Market capitalization (also known as market value) is the share price times the number of shares outstanding (including their several classes) for listed domestic companies. Investment funds, unit trusts, and companies whose only business goal is to hold shares of other listed companies are excluded. Data are end of year values.;World Federation of Exchanges database.;Weighted average;Stock market data were previously sourced from Standard & Poor's until they discontinued their 'Global Stock Markets Factbook' and database in April 2013. Time series have been replaced in December 2015 with data from the World Federation of Exchanges and may differ from the previous S&P definitions and methodology.

Stock market capitalization to GDP (%) in Australia was reported at 130 % in 2020, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - Stock market capitalization to GDP - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

The Market Research and Statistical Services industry has performed poorly because of mixed demand across years for market research and related services. Industry revenue is anticipated to shrink at an annualised 1.3% over the five years through 2024-25, totalling $3.6 billion, with revenue falling by 1.5% in the current year. The overall revenue decrease can be attributed to mixed growth in prior years because of uncertainty and demand changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and ABS funding volatility. Industry revenue displays significant volatility from year to year, mainly because of fluctuations in ABS funding by the Federal Government. As the next census is set to occur in 2026, ABS revenue over the past two years has been constrained. Some companies that previously used industry businesses have been increasingly performing market research and statistical analysis in-house. Many external companies have improved their technology and data collection capabilities, which has made it more cost-effective to perform these activities internally. While the introduction of artificial intelligence has provided cost-cutting opportunities for market research businesses, it has also encouraged clients to bring industry services in-house, reducing demand. Profitability has also waned because of heightened price competition and wage costs increasing as a share of revenue. Ongoing growth in online media and big data presents both challenges and opportunities for market research businesses. Mounting demand for research and statistics relating to new media audience numbers and advertising effectiveness represents a potential opportunity. Even so, market research businesses will face challenges in developing effective measurement systems, and competition from information technology specialists that are developing similar systems will intensify. Despite these challenges, industry revenue is forecast to increase at an annualised 2.0% through 2029-30 to reach $3.9 billion.

In June 2025, nearly *********** options were traded on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). This was slightly above the monthly average of around *********** recorded since January 2020. However, The ASX options market is much lower than the volume of futures traded on the ASX. Options and futures are similar in that they are both financial derivatives that provide an investor the ability to buy (or sell) a financial asset for an agreed price at a certain point in time, but they differ in that futures require that the transaction take place, whereas options do not. Options and the coronavirus pandemic Coinciding with the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the volume of options traded on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) spiked in **********. It is notable that the spike in terms of the value of options traded was much greater than in terms of volume. It is also notable that the majority of the spike in this month came from call options - which enable the option holder to purchase a financial instrument (like shares) for an agreed price at a date in the future. By contrast, put options enable holders to sell a financial instrument at an agreed value in the future. This suggests that the increased value for this month was driven by investors trying to capitalize on the pandemic by locking in lower prices for the future, with the (correct) assumption that prices would rise again in the following months. How is the value of derivatives calculated? Calculating the value of derivatives is different to an item like shares, in that derivatives contracts do not include the underlying asset price. Both options and futures are contracts which provide the ability to purchase a financial asset in the future for an agreed price – meaning the purchase of the contract does not include the purchasing of the asset itself. Generally, the ‘notional value’ is used to calculate the value of derivatives – which includes both the cost of the contract itself as well as the underlying asset. Note how options do not require the transaction take place, but yet the value of transaction is included. This one reason behind why, for example, banks in the U.S. and banks in the UK can hold derivates that are well above the national gross domestic product of their respective countries.

In 2025, stock markets in the United States accounted for roughly ** percent of world stocks. The next largest country by stock market share was China, followed by the European Union as a whole. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the NASDAQ are the largest stock exchange operators worldwide. What is a stock exchange? The first modern publicly traded company was the Dutch East Industry Company, which sold shares to the general public to fund expeditions to Asia. Since then, groups of companies have formed exchanges in which brokers and dealers can come together and make transactions in one space. Stock market indices group companies trading on a given exchange, giving an idea of how they evolve in real time. Appeal of stock ownership Over half of adults in the United States are investing money in the stock market. Stocks are an attractive investment because the possible return is higher than offered by other financial instruments.

GDP: linked series (current LCU) in Australia was reported at 2672659000000 LCU in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - GDP at market prices: linked series (current LCU) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Australia Market Capitalization: Listed Domestic Companies data was reported at 1,679.172 USD bn in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1,887.401 USD bn for 2021. Australia Market Capitalization: Listed Domestic Companies data is updated yearly, averaging 377.609 USD bn from Dec 1979 (Median) to 2022, with 44 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,887.401 USD bn in 2021 and a record low of 38.945 USD bn in 1979. Australia Market Capitalization: Listed Domestic Companies data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Financial Sector. Market capitalization (also known as market value) is the share price times the number of shares outstanding (including their several classes) for listed domestic companies. Investment funds, unit trusts, and companies whose only business goal is to hold shares of other listed companies are excluded. Data are end of year values converted to U.S. dollars using corresponding year-end foreign exchange rates.;World Federation of Exchanges database.;Sum;Stock market data were previously sourced from Standard & Poor's until they discontinued their 'Global Stock Markets Factbook' and database in April 2013. Time series have been replaced in December 2015 with data from the World Federation of Exchanges and may differ from the previous S&P definitions and methodology.