After hitting a massive ATH this year, Commbank was the most sold-off stock among Bell Potter clients in 2025. (Source: Getty/ASX)
It was a bit of a bumpy ride in markets in 2025. Mainly thanks to US President Donald Trump and his now infamous ‘Liberation Day’. The administration’s chaotic on-again, off-again tariff regime plunged global share markets early in the year, including in Australia.
But as the dust settled and animal spirits again began to build around the AI trade, markets roared back. The ASX has gained around 14 per cent from its lows in April after Trump’s liberating press conference.
But overall, the local market has gained about just five per cent on the year, trailing most other markets such as China, Japan, Europe and the US which saw much bigger yearly gains.
And some of Australia’s biggest companies have taken a bit of a beating.
RELATED
Commonwealth Bank reached head-scratching highs in the middle of the year, but has since crashed back down about 20 per cent from highs. It was the most sold off stock of 2025 among clients of Bell Potter, one of Australia’s largest stockbroking and financial advisory firms, according to data shared with Yahoo Finance.
From the major banks to Wesfarmers, valuations have certainly been stretched.
“I think the rise of passive [investing] has certainly driven more money into the biggest stocks in terms of trade flows. That is definitely a big part of it,” Bell Potter Investment Strategist Rob Crookston told Yahoo Finance.
Rob Crookston says there are opportunities outside the big ASX names heading into 2026. (Source: Getty/Bell Potter)
“We’ve seen some profit taking, certainly in those more expensive names now.”
Among the top 10 most sold-off stocks for the year, Commbank, ANZ, Westpac, NAB and Macquarie Bank all featured. As did Telstra, Wesfarmers and longtime ASX darling and biotech giant CSL which recently downgraded its outlook, in part due to vaccine hesitancy in the US.
“We still are underweight CBA and Wesfarmers on the view that they’re too expensive.”
Among the most bought stocks by Aussie investors this year included four index funds (three run by Vanguard) which are hugely popular among retail investors looking to get broad exposure to the market.
Looking ahead, Rob believes the healthcare sector is an area of the market that could outperform for investors next year.
“I think there’s some really high quality stocks in the sector,” Crookston said.
“One of those is ResMed. For me, it’s cheap. It’s got consistent earnings growth, resilient top line, net cash, good management team, all the metrics you think of when you think about quality stocks.
“It really has a monopoly in sleep apnea devices after the Phillips recall a few years ago.
“It’s actually the same price it was the beginning of the year …. I do believe that we’ll see more interest in those sort of stocks just because it’s getting too cheap. And if you can keep upgrading and keep growing your earnings, you’ll see flows soon enough.”
The much-touted AI capex bubble has well and truly come to Australia this year.
The AI trade, and the huge data centre build-out that underpins it, will continue to excite investors, Crookston believes.
“Semiconductors are like the oil of 20 years ago… It’s a massive theme.
“And it isn’t just the chip companies, AI model builders and hyper-scalers (that provide cloud internet infrastructure), you could also see a broadening out of the beneficiaries,” he said.
READ MORE: Australia building data centres ‘at a rate we have never seen before’
Bell Potter in December has also moved to an ‘overweight’ rating on resources, with Crookson making note of copper as playing a key role in the data centre build out, EVs and ongoing electrification as well as the huge energy needs to power AI.
“So I think you want to be overweight resources,” he said.
The most sold, bought and traded stocks on Bell Potter in 2025
Top 10 buys
Top 10 sells
Top 10 Trades
CSL
CBA
BHP
BHP
BHP
CBA
WDS
MQG
CSL
VAS
WBC
MQG
MQG
ANZ
WDS
RPL
NAB
VAS
IVV
TLS
WBC
VGS
WES
RPL
VHY
CSL
ANZ
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is general in nature and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Therefore, you should consider whether the information is appropriate to your circumstances before acting on it, and where appropriate, seek professional advice from a finance professional.
Get the latest Yahoo Finance news – follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.