Australian Block Market Share report – October 2026
With the expertise of our Quantitative Analytics team, we compile a monthly report on Australian block market share – to give consistent and transparent data to share key insight in the Australian market.
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The ASX200 returned 1.35% in October as folks navigated a complex macro backdrop, balancing signs of moderating inflation and slowing economic activity against elevated bond yields and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. The AI trade remained volatile, with increased scrutiny around AI financing, ahead of Anthropic's anticipated IPO, and growing debate around the long-term economics of data centre investment. Higher crude oil prices also emerged as a notable headwind for sentiment, reinforcing inflation concerns and contributing to rate uncertainty. The month was characterised by ongoing choppiness and reversals in positioning, highlighting a lack of conviction by folks considering the dynamics to digest. Volatility moderated through the month, with the ASX 200 VIX averaging 11.0, down from 11.9 in September, although geopolitical developments and the upcoming US election continued to generate intermittent bouts of uncertainty. The second half of the month was dominated by what appeared to be a number of transitions – leading to the first meaningful block activity for some months.
After a subdued winter, a marked pick up in October – largest month of blocks since March:
Average daily block turnover: $738m, versus a 12-month average of $675m
Average blocks per day: 161/day, versus a 12-month average of 172
Blocks represented 7.8% of market turnover, vs the 12-month average of 6.8%
Six days of blocks greater than $1bn vs just two in September
The transition and takeover activity saw a meaningful shuffling of the top five brokers and heavy concentration in top few. MQG finished number one with an incredible 17.9% market share (vs 12mth av of 10.3%), MS, UBS, BJ and JPM rounded out the top 5, accounting for a very elevated market share of 63.4% (vs a 12mth average of 55.1%). MS had a strong showing in Megacaps with 27% mkt share, while MQG were number one in Large, Mid and microcaps. Unsurprisingly, by trade count, MQG finished number one with 434 blocks (vs a 12mth average of 3rd), while MS saw an average trade size of $9.75 – helped by their dominance in Megacaps. Agency broker venues saw $971m of block turnover, up 10.9% vs 12mth average.
Methodology
We have used ASIC definitions of a block (according to Tiers) instead of an arbitrary dollar value, and then cleaned the data by only incorporating blocks between 10:00 - 16:10:30. Any blocks done at PDC or open prices are also excluded. ETF trades are excluded.
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