1h agoThu 5 Mar 2026 at 8:57pmMarket snapshotASX 200 futures: -1.4% to 8,800 pointsAustralian dollar: -1% to 70.01 US centsS&P 500: -0.8% to 6,816 pointsNasdaq: -0.5% to 22,695 pointsFTSE: -1.5% to 10,413 pointsEuroStoxx: -1.3% to 605 pointsSpot gold: -1.2% to $US5,076/ounceBrent crude: +4.4% to $US85.01/barrelIron ore: +1.5% to $US100.25/tonneBitcoin: -2.9% to $US71,206

Price current around 7:50am AEDT

Live updates on the major ASX indices:

Just nowThu 5 Mar 2026 at 10:25pm

ASIC chair Joe Longo in the hot seat

The Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services is questioning outgoing ASIC chair Joe Longo about the Star Entertainment Group case.

The regulator took the CEO and essentially the whole board to court for failing to meet their directors’ duties (essentially, did they do their job?).

As an opener of this hours-long questioning, he’s asked about it. Here’s his first thoughts:

“It’s a 500 page document that I’m still digesting myself… I’ll be reflecting on this over the weekend.

“Clearly ASIC is disappointed in aspects of the result… although there’s no ‘new law’ (the judge) went on to (discuss) AI, directors duties”

Penalties will be determined in the next week.

“ASIC’s allegations or contentions against (chief legal office) Paula Martin were upheld and most were upheld against (CEO) Mat Bekier”

He says there “can be no doubt in my mind” that it was a good idea to bring the proceedings.

Joe Longo is clear that he’s not speaking specifically about Star, but broadly about corporate law. So he’s not criticising the judge Justice Lee’s decision but attempting to explain why they’re not always successful – even with a debacle like Star.

“At their very heart is the role of directors and the role of management.. it’s fair to say his findings.. show that it wasn’t a ringing endorsement of the board at all. I’m often asked ‘Why don’t you go after those directors?’… community expectations or even my expectations can be: ‘That board could have done a better job’.

“But  just because the community is unhappy doesn’t mean the law has been broken.”

34m agoThu 5 Mar 2026 at 9:52pmKyle and Jackie O’s former content director speaks out about contract ‘insanity’

Vulgar, sexually explicit and deeply offensive was how the media regulator once described the Kyle and Jackie O Show.

It’s doubtful the commercial radio executives would have been too worried about a slap from ACMA when a show is raking in the ratings, and advertising dollars.

But that wasn’t the case anymore, at least in Melbourne, where the Sydney-based program floundered, sinking to 5 per cent of audience share.

That would have rung alarm bells at parent company ARN Media, which reportedly signed the pair to a $200 million, 10-year deal in 2023.

That deal was a bridge too far, according to a man who had a hand in their early success at 2DayFM, their former content director Craig Bruce.

“The idea that radio could generate enough revenue in eight to 10 years from now to pay two people $10 million each a year was insanity and should never have happened,” Mr Bruce told 7.30.

Read more from 7.30’s Jasom Om.

1h agoThu 5 Mar 2026 at 9:17pmWildcards that could crash Australian superannuation

The total worth of Australian superannuation is roughly $4.5 trillion.

About 20 per cent (or between $800 and $900 billion) of that is invested in US assets, including shares.

A major market meltdown would change the financial plans of millions of Australians overnight.

Read this analysis from business correspondent David Taylor.

1h agoThu 5 Mar 2026 at 9:08pm

ICYMI: Thursday finance with David Chau1h agoThu 5 Mar 2026 at 9:03pmEuropean stocks fall after Asian stocks rally

Equities fell in Europe on Thursday as oil prices jumped on supply fears amid intensifying fighting on the sixth day of the US-Israeli war with Iran.

The campaign against Iran continued with what residents described as even heavier bombing, while Tehran launched a wave of missiles at Israel and vowed to retaliate against Americans “wherever they are” after a US strike on a ship far from the battle zone.

In Washington, Republican senators on Wednesday blocked a bipartisan move to halt the US air assault.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1.29%.

This was after MSCI’s Asia Pacific price index rose 2%. South Korea’s KOSPI index closed up almost 10%.

The index, which has been under pressure due to the country’s dependence on imported oil, erased most of Wednesday’s record drop after President Lee Jae Myung ordered activation of a $US68 billion market stabilisation fund.

Japan’s Nikkei jumped nearly 2%, while Chinese shares climbed almost 1% after Beijing unveiled a 4.5%-5% annual economic growth target.

Reporting with Reuters.

1h agoThu 5 Mar 2026 at 8:45pmOil surges, inflation fears dim US Fed rate cut hopes

US stocks extended losses on Thursday afternoon as the Middle East conflict entered its sixth day, pushing oil prices higher and spurring worries about inflation and whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.

Expansion of the conflict to more countries fed fears of disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical energy choke point, where missile and drone threats have drastically reduced tanker traffic.

This lifted US crude prices about 8% to roughly $US80 per barrel. Global benchmark Brent crude rose about 4% to $US85. Traders worry a prolonged interruption could feed inflation and slow economic growth.

“Look at oil today — it tells you everything you need to know about why the stock market’s down,” said Michael Antonelli, market strategist at Baird Private Wealth Management.

With the US-Israeli air war against Iran raging, Wall Street’s main indexes have fared better than their European and Asian counterparts this week, aided primarily by a rebound in technology stocks, which bore the brunt of February’s selloff.

“The base case for the US itself is that this war should be relatively short-lived, which explains why, in absolute terms, equities have not fallen by very much, despite the quite sharp increases we’ve seen in spot commodity prices,” said Kiran Ganesh, multi-asset strategist at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Any signs that crude prices could hit $US100 a barrel would be worrisome for markets, and investors were on the lookout for reports that the conflict could be nearing its end.

Investors expect price pressures to delay a 25-basis-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve to October from July, according to LSEG-compiled data.

Reporting with Reuters

1h agoThu 5 Mar 2026 at 8:32pmASX to open sharply lower

Good morning, and welcome to Friday’s markets live blog, where we’ll bring you the latest price action and news on the ASX and beyond.

A tumble on Wall Street overnight sets the tone for local market action today.

The Dow Jones index dropped 1.9 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 1 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.8 per cent.

ASX futures were down 137 points or 1.5 per cent to 8,789 at 7:30am AEDT.

At the same time, the Australian dollar was down 1 per cent to 70.02 US cents.

Brent crude oil surged 4.1 per cent, trading at $US84.77 a barrel.

Spot gold dropped 1.1 per cent to $US5,078.15.

Iron ore rose 1.5 per cent to $US100.25 a tonne.