52m agoWed 8 Apr 2026 at 10:21pmMarket snapshot
ASX 200: +2.55% to 8951.8 (Wednesday close)
Australian dollar: 70 US cents
Wall Street: Dow Jones +2.85%, S&P 500 +2.51%, Nasdaq +2.80%
Europe: FTSE +2.51%, Stoxx 600 +3.88%
Spot gold: -0.07% to $US4711/ounce
Oil (Brent crude): -11.5% to $US96.70/barrel
Iron ore: -0.6% to $US106.55/tonne
Bitcoin: +2.6% to US$71,553
Prices current around 8.20AM AEST
Live updates on the major ASX indices:
21m agoWed 8 Apr 2026 at 10:52pmBiofuel, electric truck projects to get fast-tracked approvals
The Albanese government says it will fast-track approvals and cut red tape for four big fuel security and critical minerals projects.
The scheme, known as the Investor Front Door, is designed to channel foreign capital investment into new green industries.
It was announced by Treasurer Jim Chalmers in the May 2024 budget as part of Labor’s $22 billion Future Made in Australia industrial policy program.
“The supply chain disruptions we are seeing as a consequence of the conflict in the Middle East demonstrate just how important it is to build up our sovereign capability in these essential areas,” the Treasurer said in a statement on Thursday.
“These projects are all about making our economy stronger and more resilient, and our fuel supply more secure.”
He said the scheme would streamline how project developers and businesses interact with government, helping them navigate approvals processes and fast-track major projects in the national interest.
“These projects have the potential to contribute up to $20 billion in investment in Australia,” he said.
Four projects have been chosen to participate in the first Investor Front Door pilot:
1. HAMR Energy’s Renewable Fuel Project in Victoria and South Australia — which will develop two facilities to convert biomass into low carbon liquid fuels.
2. Ardea Resources’ Kalgoorlie Nickel Project in Western Australia — one of the largest nickel and cobalt resources in Australia, which could produce 30,000 tonnes of nickel and 2,000 tonnes of cobalt a year for 40 years.
3. New Energy Transport’s Wilton Project located south-west of Sydney — a large scale zero-emission heavy road freight depot to help strengthen the resilience of our freight systems and supply chains.
4. The Murchison Green Hydrogen project in Western Australia — a green hydrogen plant producing large-scale green ammonia using wind and solar.
32m agoWed 8 Apr 2026 at 10:41pmExxon Mobil warns of oil output hit from Iran war
Exxon Mobil Corp shares fell yesterday after the oil company disclosed the expected impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East on its production during the first quarter.
In a regulatory filing, ExxonMobil said the disruptions affected assets in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The company expects the Iran war to curtail its global oil and gas production by 6 per cent in the first quarter, after the closure of a key Middle East waterway and attacks on gas assets in March.
The US oil giant’s assets in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates make up about 20 per cent of the company’s worldwide output.
The company also expects timing effects, primarily linked to commodity price increases between late December 2025 and the end of March 2026, to negatively affect first-quarter earnings by $US3.5 billion to $US4.9 billion.
Despite these headwinds, ExxonMobil said it anticipates first-quarter earnings per share will exceed fourth-quarter 2025 levels when excluding timing-related impacts.
1h agoWed 8 Apr 2026 at 9:54pmUS Fed minutes reveal woes over Middle East conflict
The minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s mid-March meeting suggest that the spike in oil prices led to more concern about the upside risks to inflation than the downside risks to the labour market.
Capital Economics’ Chief North America Economist Stephen Brown says if the two-week ceasefire agreed between the US, Israel and Iran holds — it still seems likely that the Fed’s next move will be a cut.
“The majority of participants argued that move both increased the upside risks to inflation and the downside risks to the labour market,” he said.
In a scenario in which the conflict persists, he said most participants were concerned about a further softening in labour market conditions, whereas others pointed to the risk of “inflation remaining elevated for longer than expected” which could “call for rate increases”.
“Even if the ceasefire holds and inflation begins to decline again later this year as we forecast, the minutes also suggest that the FOMC will need to see significant downward progress on both goods and non-housing core services inflation before cutting again,” he added.
“We’ve pencilled in the next rate cut for the first quarter of 2027.
ANZ Research’s Brian Martin and Daniel Hynes also noted the Fed’s “mildly hawkish tone”, with some officials concerned that higher oil prices might stoke inflation.
“The minutes also stated that the vast majority of participants noted that progress toward the Committee’s 2 per cent objective could be slower than previously expected and judged that the risk of inflation running persistently above the Committee’s objective had increased,” the research note said.
1h agoWed 8 Apr 2026 at 9:22pmASX futures point to shares opening lower
Australian shares are set to open lower after moving higher on Wednesday.
Oil and gas prices fell after US President Donald Trump said the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, with the two sides saying they will hold talks in an attempt to end the six-week conflict.
Talks between the US and Iran were scheduled to begin in Pakistan on Friday.
ASX 200 futures were 0.2 per cent lower at 8967 near 7am AEDT.
In hopes that transit through the key Strait of Hormuz can resume, the price of Brent crude fell as much as 17 per cent before trading near $US95 a barrel.
But there are now fears that the Middle East ceasefire is on brink of collapse as Iran vows to retaliate for Israeli strikes.
For now, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
1h agoWed 8 Apr 2026 at 9:15pm
Good morning
Welcome to the ABC business blog I will be here to guide you through the morning’s latest economic and business news.