Market Open: Wobbly Week 9 start as Trump hoists universal tariffs; Oz reporting hits busiest stretch | Feb 23

ASX today − Good morning, and welcome to Week 9, I’m Isaac McIntyre. Australian shares are heading for a fairly unconvincing rise early Monday, with futures suggesting there’ll be a +25pt bump when trade gets going.

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Dramatic U.S. action has left us teetering, with the White House raising universal tariffs to 15% in response to the Supreme Court ruling them “illegal.”

As more Aussie traders wake up Monday, have a coffee, and catch up on the weekend’s news, though, that could well slip − and so it’s a pretty tricky one to call before we actually get to start making moves. (Though, NAB’s FX head, Ray Attrill, did declare it was “unequivocally bad news” already.)

All this comes bundled up with the fact that ASX investors have been steadily preparing for the last (and always busiest) week of reporting. The already-volatile results season will peak with its biggest day on Thursday.

We’ll stick with that now − plenty coming across Week 8…

ASX stocks to watch

… starting with Ampol (ASX:ALD), Lendlease (ASX:LLC), and NIB Group (ASX:NIB) among the many big ASX 200 reporters getting us going early.

Reece (ASX:REH) has shared its results already, confirming a steep 20% fall in first-half net profits. That slide was driven by “subdued” housing markets and dampened demand for plumbing and bathroom supplies, Reece said.

Elsewhere, McMillan Shakespeare (ASX:MMS) reported a +9.7% increase in its first-half net profits, up to $49.6 million. Its dividend is now up to 62cps.

Genesis Energy (ASX:GNE), meanwhile, landed a record first-half normalised EBITDAF of NZ$307M. The Kiwi gas provider has “more actively managed its gas position” through FY26 so far, and said it expects CY26’s winter run to “revert to more normal seasonal patterns” that are slightly easier to plan around.

Plus, Cash Converters (ASX:CCV) saw hiked profits; +9% stronger.

Buck and ore

Now – in forex, the Oz dollar is buying US 70.7c.

Looking at commodities, all in the greenback,

Iron Ore has slipped -0.2%, to sell at $95.30 a tonne in Singapore today,

Brent Crude slipped -0.1%, to $71.76/Bbl,

Gold is selling up at $5,141/ounce,

US natgas futures gained +1.7%, to $3.04 per gigajoule.

That’s HotCopper’s Market Open, I’m Isaac McIntyre – happy trading.

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