At The Bell – The S&P/ASX 200 index is forecast to open lower, shadowing the overnight falls on Wall Street as oil prices again rose.
Listen to the HotCopper podcast for in-depth discussions and insights on all the biggest headlines from throughout the week. On Spotify, Apple, and more.
Investors are also taking time to review yesterday’s decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to keep interest rates at 4.35%.
Wall Street was down again as US-Iran peace talks appear to be disappearing into the rear view mirror.
Reuters has reported that hopes of a peace deal are fading after US President Donald Trump called for Iran to pay compensation for people killed in wars, attacks and protests.
Brent Crude was up 1.26% this morning to US$83.161 a barrel.
Many American investors are awaiting inflation data out later today US time with continuing oil price increases having the potential to impact those key numbers.
Locally, a new report released by consultancy EnergyQuest has suggested the Western Australia’s domestic gas market may return to its roots where LNG projects supplied a higher proportion of export volumes to the domestic market.
“The West Coast Gas Outlook 2026 shows that increasing and sustained demand combined with declining supply from domestic only gas projects create growing potential supply shortfalls,” Matt, Paull, head of consulting, said.
“On the current trajectory, WA’s future gas market will start to look like it was a decade ago. That future is not far off and, without further supply development, we expect more than 15% of LNG export volumes will need to be supplied to the domestic market in the 2030s’ Mr Paull said.
Buck and ore
Now – in forex, the Oz dollar is buying US$0.705
Looking at commodities, all in the greenback
Iron Ore is up 0.56% to $95.08 per tonne
Brent Crude was up 1.26% to $83.161 USD/Bbl
Gold is selling at $4370.26 per ounce
US natgas futures were down 1.64% to $2.7481 per USD/MMBtu
On the ASX reporting front:
Leading banking institution the CBA has unveiled a strong FY26 result with cash net profit after tax increasing by seven per cent to $11 billion, pre-provision profit increasing six per cent to $16.5 billion, while return on equity rose 14 per cent.
Operating income increased six per cent, supported by customer and volume growth and a broadly stable underlying net interest margin.
However, in its “Outlook” forecasts, the bank warned that growth is slowing, with higher interest rates and inflation placing uneven pressure on household incomes and economic activity.
On the technology front Metallium (ASX:MTM) has expanded its commercial pipeline with positive FJH testing results on a range of metals; and
Sprintex (ASX:SIX) has revealed it is targeting a US$4 billion market with a new China partnership.
In resources news, Black Canyon (ASX:BCA) has extended known manganese mineralisation at Wandanya in WA by 400m to the south; and
Patronus Resources (ASX:PTN) has intersected shallow gold at Golden Dyke in the NT.
That’s HotCopper’s Market Open, I’m Colin Sandell-Hay – happy trading.
Join the discussion. See what’s trending right now on Australia’s largest stock forum and be part of the conversations that move the markets.
The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.