7h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 11:30pmMarket snapshotASX 200: +1.4% to 8,499 pointsAustralian dollar: +0.1% to 70 US centsS&P 500: -0.4% to 6,556 pointsNasdaq: -0.8% to 21,761 pointsFTSE: +0.7% to 9,965 pointsEuroStoxx: +0.4% to 579 pointsSpot gold: +0.8% to $US4,508\/ounceBrent crude: Flat at $US104.5\/barrelIron ore:\u00a0-0.4% to $US107.75\/tonneBitcoin: -1% to $US70,188<\/p>\n
Price current around 10:30am AEDT<\/p>\n
Live updates on the major ASX indices:<\/p>\n
6h agoWed 25 Mar 2026 at 12:00amTo our readers<\/p>\n
Due to industrial action, this will be the last blog of the day.<\/p>\n
ABC journalists are taking industrial action from 11am AEDT today to 11am AEDT tomorrow to call on ABC management to provide an offer in Enterprising Bargaining with quality jobs, so we can deliver the quality news and content Australians rely on.<\/p>\n
6h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 11:49pmTop and bottom movers at open<\/p>\n
Gold miners like Genesis Minerals, Emerald Resources and Bellevue Gold were the standouts at open, rising in the range of 8% to 11%, as the price of spot gold gained ground.<\/p>\n
Mining giant Rio Tinto gained 0.9% after federal and state governments announced $2 billion bailout for its Boyne aluminium smelter in Queensland.<\/p>\n
On the way down, the energy sector was the worst performing sector so far, with Karoon Energy\u00a0and Woodside Energy plunging 3.4% and 3.1%.<\/p>\n
Amplitude Energy plunged 38% after the company released a disappointing update on the drilling operations at its Isabella prospect in Victoria.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, 4DMedical surged 33% after the company said its technology had been deployed at the Mayo Clinic in the US.<\/p>\n
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(LSEG)7h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 11:15pmASX opens up<\/p>\n
The Australian share market has opened higher, led by gains in miners as commodity prices strengthened, while investors await February inflation data later in the day.<\/p>\n
The ASX 200 index was up 100 points or 1.2% to 8,479, by 10:15am AEDT.<\/p>\n
The mining sector rose 2.9%, followed by utilities and financials with a 1% rise each.<\/p>\n
7h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 11:03pmDid AI really take their jobs?<\/p>\n
Big tech companies have made announcements to sack staff and they say AI will pick up the slack.<\/p>\n
Block, the company behind Square, Afterpay and Cash App, cut 40 per cent of its workforce, citing improvements in AI for why it needed fewer staff.\u00a0Atlassian slashed 10 per cent of its staff. Meta is\u00a0reportedly planning lay-offs of 20 per cent. Amazon\u00a0cut 16,000 workers in January. For WiseTech,\u00a0it was 2,000.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s enough to send a shiver down the spine of any white-collar worker. If AI really is behind the cuts at tech companies, could they be next?<\/p>\n
But as the lay-offs keep coming, a divide has opened up about what is really driving them. Many remain sceptical of AI\u2019s ability to replace workers, while others think we\u2019re seeing the end of knowledge work as we know it.<\/p>\n
Read this long form article from Julian Fell, Teresa Tan\u00a0and\u00a0Joshua Byrd.<\/p>\n
8h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 10:36pmBarclays upgrades $A forecast to 75 US cents by Q1 2027<\/p>\n
Barclays has published its quarterly macro report, with an upgrade for the Australian dollar.<\/p>\n
Here is what they think where the currency is headed.<\/p>\n
“We have meaningfully upgraded our AUD forecasts on domestic economic tailwinds, a more hawkish outlook for the RBA and smaller exposure to the energy price shock,” it said in a note.<\/p>\n
“More specifically, the AI-linked commodity boom is a demand-driven terms of trade (ToT) shock and a secular tailwind for the AUD.<\/p>\n
“This makes the RBA’s hawkish pivot more sustainable while also generating scope for an increase in hedging flows, as the costs of hedging US asset exposure back into AUD have turned positive for the first time since COVID.<\/p>\n
“The AUD is also less exposed to an oil price shock compared with its peers, with only a small share, at around 5-10%, of its
\ncrude oil imports coming directly from the Middle East.<\/p>\n
“While speculative positioning may be very long, we do not see it standing in the way of further upside given the above factors. We also expect further outperformance of the AUD versus NZD, given policy differentials and a stronger fundamental backdrop for the former.”<\/p>\n
8h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 9:44pmHow secure is Australia’s fuel supply?Loading…<\/p>\n
Australia has enough fuel for now, but there are big questions about our fuel security in the coming months, as business reporter Daniel Ziffer explains.<\/p>\n
9h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 9:29pmRio Tinto smelter lands $2b funding for green transition<\/p>\n
Australia’s second-largest aluminium smelter, Rio Tinto’s Boyne Smelters in Gladstone, Queensland, will receive a $2 billion taxpayer subsidy to remain open for the next decade.<\/p>\n
The investment, equally funded by the federal and Queensland governments, will unlock almost $7.5 billion in investment in Queensland, with Rio Tinto underwriting investment in energy assets, Federal Industry Minister Tim Ayres said.<\/p>\n
Rio Tinto’s aluminium and lithium chief executive J\u00e9r\u00f4me P\u00e9cresse said the deal would ensure Boyne Smelters remains internationally competitive.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs fossil fuels become increasingly expensive, this investment, combined with the power purchase agreements we have already signed, positions Boyne to be among the world\u2019s first aluminium smelters underpinned by solar and wind power,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It also ensures heavy manufacturing like aluminium smelting can continue in Gladstone for the long term and preserves one of the few fully integrated aluminium value chains in the world \u2014 from bauxite mining to alumina refining to aluminium smelting all in Queensland \u2014 as demand for aluminium continues to grow with the energy transition.”<\/p>\n
Australia’s metals processing sector has been under pressure from high energy and labour costs, and governments announced financial support for several facilities last year.<\/p>\n
Reporting with Reuters<\/p>\n
9h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 9:03pm<\/p>\n
ICYMI: Tuesday finance with Alan Kohler9h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 9:02pmFossil fuel dependence among Australia’s biggest threats<\/p>\n
Former defence leaders say Australians are being subjected to a global “disinformation war” about fossil fuels and climate change.<\/p>\n
In a new report, they say the problem has become a “national security threat” with consequences for Australia’s sovereignty, economic resilience, disaster readiness and strategic autonomy.<\/p>\n
They say anti-trust legislation, enforceable regulation of generative AI, and steps to force companies to take responsibility for online disinformation are urgently needed.<\/p>\n
Read more from business reporter\u00a0Gareth Hutchens.<\/p>\n
9h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 8:52pm<\/p>\n
Market snapshotASX 200 futures: +0.6% to 8,468 pointsAustralian dollar: -0.3% to 69.88 US centsS&P 500: -0.4% to 6,556 pointsNasdaq: -0.8% to 21,761 pointsFTSE: +0.7% to 9,965 pointsEuroStoxx: +0.4% to 579 pointsSpot gold: +1.4% to $US4,467\/ounceBrent crude: +0.2% to $US100.2\/barrelIron ore:\u00a0-0.4% to $US107.75\/tonneBitcoin: -1% to $US70,188<\/p>\n
Price current around 7:50am AEDT<\/p>\n
Live updates on the major ASX indices:<\/p>\n
9h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 8:47pmInvestors watch oil prices, interest rates and Iran headlines<\/p>\n
Wall Street indexes fell in Tuesday’s volatile session after US President Trump claimed there were talks even as reports suggested that more American troops were headed to the Middle East.<\/p>\n
US Treasury yields extended gains after a\u00a0weak auction\u00a0of two-year Treasury notes, adding pressure to equity markets.<\/p>\n
Indexes regained some ground after\u00a0Trump told reporters the US was talking to “the right people” in Iran to end hostilities and the Iranians have agreed they will never have nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n
But\u00a0reports\u00a0the Pentagon would send thousands more\u00a0troops from the elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East caused some concerns.<\/p>\n
Wall Street indexes\u00a0on Monday marked their biggest one-day gain since February 6, as oil prices fell after Trump postponed strikes against Iranian power plants and announced talks with Iran, even as Tehran\u00a0denied there were negotiations. But energy prices rose on Tuesday with\u00a0crude oil futures\u00a0settling up more than 4%.<\/p>\n
“Stocks are trying to find their footing as investors are keeping one eye on social media and the other eye on every headline. We’re very short-term oriented,” said Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth.<\/p>\n
“Markets are trying to hold onto the optimism they had yesterday. They’re so ready to move beyond war talk even if it’s not 100% settled,” said Schleif.<\/p>\n
But she added: “There’s a lot of nervousness. People are watching oil and watching\u00a0interest rates and worrying do we go higher for longer on both energy and interest rates, because that could start negatively impacting growth.”<\/p>\n
Kevin Gordon, head of macro research and strategy at the Schwab Center for Financial Research in New York, also pointed to a “double whammy” of higher oil prices and higher rates as a “stagflationary backdrop which, needless to say, is not a positive backdrop for the stock market”.<\/p>\n
10h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 8:27pmASX to open higher<\/p>\n
Good morning and welcome to Wednesday’s markets live blog, where we’ll bring you the latest price action and news on the ASX and beyond.<\/p>\n
A tumble on Wall Street overnight sets the tone for local market action today.<\/p>\n
The Dow Jones index dropped 0.2 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 0.4 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.8 per cent.<\/p>\n
ASX futures were up 51 points or 0.6 per cent to 8,468 at 7am AEDT.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the Australian dollar was down 0.1 per cent to 70.02 US cents.<\/p>\n
Brent crude oil was up 3.8 per cent, trading at $US103.74 a barrel.<\/p>\n
Spot gold gained 1.5 per cent to $US4,471.<\/p>\n
Iron ore lost 0.4 per cent to $US107.75 a tonne.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"7h agoTue 24 Mar 2026 at 11:30pmMarket snapshotASX 200: +1.4% to 8,499 pointsAustralian dollar: +0.1% to 70 US…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70333,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[4738,11120,36240,25725,40840,11121,45,49,48,10656,3237,46,11124,166,7554,7555,44030,176,64,6495],"class_list":["post-559171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-asian-markets","tag-asx","tag-asx-200","tag-aud","tag-australian-company","tag-australian-dollar","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-dollar","tag-dow-jones","tag-economy","tag-live-blog","tag-nasdaq","tag-sp-500","tag-shares","tag-stockmarket","tag-stocks","tag-tech","tag-wall-street"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=559171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559171\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=559171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=559171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=559171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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ASX 200: +1.4% to 8,499 pointsAustralian dollar: +0.1% to 70 US centsS&P 500: -0.4% to 6,556 pointsNasdaq: -0.8% to 21,761 pointsFTSE: +0.7% to 9,965 pointsEuroStoxx: +0.4% to 579 pointsSpot gold: +0.8% to $US4,508\/ounceBrent crude: Flat at $US104.5\/barrelIron ore:\u00a0-0.4% to $US107.75\/tonneBitcoin: -1% to $US70,188<\/p>\n