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Greetings and welcome to HotCopper’s The ASX Today live from the floor at the 2026 RIU Explorers’ Conference in Fremantle, I’m Jon Davidson. The Aussie market had a fairly boring day today, despite some bright spots, perhaps because the real hustle and bustle is happening here today.
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Even with gold taking a recent breather, the buzz was palpable here at the conference as elevated commodity prices for everything from gold and copper to lithium and neodymium keep boosting sentiment, and potentially, project economics.
Outside these walls, the XJO was up four tenths of a percent at lunchtime, but the index struggled to climb too far beyond that on the back of a subdued night on Wall Street. At time of recording, U.S. futures flattish red, and with software tech jitters carrying onward, it’s unclear what the next big catalyst will be.
The Fed’s FOMC meeting minutes come out overnight, or early hours Thursday morning Australia time, but it’s unlikely that’s going to rattle any cages. Bar any surprises from Washington, common sense would predict the big catalyst for Wall Street remains the March interest rate decision, widely expected to be a pause. But that’s still a while away, and common sense is rare.
Looking around the traps at home, BlueScope Steel jumped after Stokes-backed SGH renewed a joint bid for the Australian steel icon. Elsewhere, National Australia Bank, echoing CBA’s climb last week, saw its Wednesday half-year report very well received by a very reactive market this earnings season. Health insurers jumped after Canberra greenlit yet another premium hike, and Santos fell even after announcing a cost-cutting drive starting first and foremost with a lot of jobs.
That’s the ASX Today for Wednesday from the 2026 RIU Explorers’ Conference, I’m Jon Davidson. Have a great night, and we’ll see you tomorrow.
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