Australian Securities Exchange
Australia’s primary exchange, formed by merging the country’s state-based exchanges and later combined with the Sydney Futures Exchange. It is heavily weighted towards banks and resource companies, and is supported by one of the world’s largest pools of pension capital through the compulsory superannuation system.
- Location
- Sydney, Australia
- Trading currency
- Australian dollar (AUD)
- Trading hours
- 10:00 to 16:00, Monday to Friday
- Trading days
- Monday to Friday, excluding ASX holidays
- Time zone
- Australian Eastern Time (UTC+10, UTC+11 in daylight saving)
- Market capitalisation
- Approximately USD 1.8 trillion (2025)
- Listed companies
- Approximately 2,000 (2025)
- Settlement
- T+2 through CHESS, the ASX clearing and settlement system, which supports direct legal title rather than street-name holding.
Top performing companies today
Ranked by the current session’s percentage move, strongest first, from the companies this platform covers on this venue.
Retrieving current-day prices for the companies covered on this venue…
What trades here
Major indices
- S&P/ASX 200
- S&P/ASX 300
- All Ordinaries
Major listed companies
- BHP Group
- Commonwealth Bank of Australia
- CSL
- Rio Tinto
- Westpac
- Macquarie Group
Major sectors
- Materials and mining
- Financials
- Healthcare
- Real estate
- Energy
How the market works
Market structure
An electronic central order book. The ASX is unusual in combining a heavy weighting in banks and resources with one of the world's largest pools of compulsory pension savings, which underwrites steady domestic demand for its listed equity.
Trading mechanisms
A pre-open from 07:00 with a staggered opening auction between 10:00 and 10:10, continuous trading to 16:00, and a closing single-price auction at 16:10. Trading halts are issued at issuer request around announcements.
Listing requirements
Admission requires either a profit test (A$1 million aggregate profit over three years and A$500,000 in the last twelve months) or an assets test (A$4 million net tangible assets or A$15 million market capitalisation), together with at least 300 non-affiliated security holders, a 20% free float and compliance with the ASX Listing Rules and Corporate Governance Principles.
Settlement
T+2 through CHESS, the ASX clearing and settlement system, which supports direct legal title rather than street-name holding.
Regulatory authority
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
How to invest in this market
What it takes to open an account and deal on ASX, separated by where you live — the two answers are rarely the same, and on some markets they are not even the same process.
Domestic investors
Residents of Australia
Australian residents open an account with an ASIC-licensed broker. The distinctive feature of this market is franking: dividends paid out of taxed profits carry credits that can offset a resident's own tax bill.
- An account with a broker holding an Australian Financial Services Licence.
- Identity verification and a Tax File Number — without one, tax is withheld from unfranked distributions at the top marginal rate.
- A Holder Identification Number (CHESS-sponsored) or a broker-sponsored holding.
- A minimum first trade of A$500 applies to most brokers for CHESS registration.
- Tax: franking credits attach to dividends paid from taxed profits and are creditable, and in some cases refundable, against personal tax. Capital gains are taxed with a 50% discount on assets held over a year.
Foreign investors
Open to foreign investors
Open for portfolio investment. The catch for a non-resident is that franking credits, which are a large part of the total return for Australian residents, are of little or no value to you.
- A broker with ASX access.
- Passport and proof of address; declare non-residency so the correct withholding applies.
- Tax: unfranked dividends to non-residents are withheld at 30%, reduced to 15% or less by treaty. Fully franked dividends are generally exempt from further withholding — but the franking credit itself is not refundable to you.
- Non-residents are generally outside the Australian capital gains net on portfolio holdings in listed shares, unless the company is land-rich.
Foreign ownership limits
The Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act requires Foreign Investment Review Board approval above defined thresholds, with lower thresholds for foreign government investors and for sensitive sectors. Statutory caps apply to Telstra, Qantas and the major airports.
Currency considerations
Quoted in Australian dollars, a currency that tends to move with industrial-commodity prices — so for a foreign investor, currency and equity exposure here are correlated rather than offsetting.
Regulated routes to an account
Licensed intermediaries and official exchange platforms, listed to show the regulated routes into this market. This is not a recommendation and not an exhaustive list — check any firm against the regulator’s register before opening an account.
Verify before you act
Why this market matters
Why investors follow it
It is one of the cleanest listed proxies for iron ore, lithium and other industrial commodities, and therefore for Chinese construction and manufacturing demand. Australian dividend imputation also makes it a notably high-yield market for domestic investors.
Interesting facts
- Because of the time zone, the ASX is among the first major markets to open each trading day.
- Compulsory superannuation contributions channel a steady flow of savings into the market, supporting valuations.
- Franking credits attached to Australian dividends can materially change after-tax returns for resident investors.
Official sources