Market Reports

• Australian Market Report: The Australian sharemarket extended its losing streak on Thursday as Brent oil soared to a wartime high. The S&P/ASX closed 21.2 points, or 0.2 per cent, lower at 8665.80, its eighth straight day of declines..... [more]

• U.S. Market Report: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were on course to end April with their biggest gains since 2020, highlighting ​how resilient corporate earnings have helped steady investor nerves despite a historic supply shock in the oil markets..... [more]

• European Market Report: European stocks closed higher on Thursday with investors reacting to a slew of earnings announcements and economic data from the region and digested the monetary policy decisions.... [more]

• Asian Market Report: Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Thursday as a sharp rise in oil prices on fears of a prolonged conflict in the Middle East overshadowed stronger-than-expected earnings from U.S. tech giants..... [more]

Australian Business News

• A third consecutive interest rate hike is all but “locked in”, a former Reserve Bank assistant governor has predicted, as surging oil prices pushed inflation to its worst figure since 2023..... [more]

• CPI prompts rate rise predictions. A broad cross-section of Australian market economists are inking in another 0.25% interest rate rise next month in the wake of yesterday’s March quarter rise in the consumer price index (CPI) to 4.6%..... [more]

• Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has downplayed expectations the government will reap a tax bounty from changes in next month’s budget as he reassures property investors past decisions will be respected..... [more]

• BNK Banking Corporation has tabled a record net interest margin (NIM) for the March quarter, with the closely watched bank health metric swelling to 2.11 per cent..... [more]

• Emerging markets offer a compelling growth-to-valuation trade-off compared to the Nasdaq, according to Trellia Wealth Partners portfolio manager.... [more]

• How to stay calm in volatile markets – think like a super fund. Aware Super’s David Goodman shares how the super fund is investing for the next 20-30 years and why volatility is an opportunity..... [more]

• Australian hydrocarbon producer Woodside (ASX: WDS) posted an 8% sequential decline in first-quarter production to 45 million barrels of oil equivalent, or mmboe, with Western Australian output affected by Cyclone Narelle..... [more]

• ASX lithium and rare earths stocks are moving again, here are the best ones to watch.... [more]

• Deep Yellow Shares Move Red YTD as Resistance Shapes Up at A$2.... [more]

• Stellar Resources (ASX: SRZ) has entered into a binding placement agreement with Metals X (ASX: MLX) to raise $17 million via a strategic placement..... [more]

• Kalamazoo lines up finance firepower for 1.44Moz Pilbara gold push. Kalamazoo Resources has upped the ante in its bid to transition from explorer to gold producer, appointing UK-based BurnVoir Corporate Finance to lead the charge.... [more]

• New drilling at FireFly Metals Ltd (ASX:FFM, TSX:FFM, OTC:MNXMF)'s Green Bay Copper-Gold Project in Newfoundland has reinforced the scale, grade and continuity of the project’s high-grade Core Zone.... [more]

• Siren Gold is steadily unravelling what could be one of New Zealand’s more intriguing forgotten mineral systems, stretching its Queen Charlotte antimony-gold project out to an impressive 8 kilometres of strike..... [more]

• Infini Resources has fired up the drill rig for maiden diamond drilling at its Reynolds and Reitenbach Lake uranium projects, situated on the doorstep of Canada’s world-renowned Athabasca Basin in northern Saskatchewan..... [more]

• WA planning authorities approve $500m wind farm at Scott River.... [more]

• Emyria has reported progress across its national Empax clinic rollout in its March quarter update, highlighting ongoing development of its clinical network, insurer-funded activity and platform..... [more]

• Woolworths chief executive Amanda Bardwell has promised shoppers that Australia’s largest supermarket chain will be more forthcoming about impending price rises that are already flowing into fresh produce, milk, bread.... [more]

• Tense exchanges in court as judge turns screws on ACCC's case against Woolworths.... [more]

• The NSW government will spend an extra $82m overhauling the public transport ticket system, including the introduction of a digital card. Announced on Tuesday, the Opal 2.0 scheme has been budgeted an extra $82m.... [more]

• Opinion - Elizabeth Knight: Woolies launches charm offensive for customers as shareholders take a hit.... [more]

• Explainer - Emily Stewart: What is inflation and should you worry about it?.... [more]

• Comment/Analysis - Melissa Maddison: Is there still opportunity in ASX media shares? ASX media shares have had a tough run, but should investors be looking beyond the headlines?.... [more]

• Opinion - Kevin Morrison: Australia isn’t getting a fair share of tax on gas exports. Queensland has shown how to raise the bar. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised no new taxes on Australia’s gas exports.... [more]

World Business News

• Oil supplies may hit a breaking point if the Iran war lasts into June. A ‘healthy’ level of oil in storage at the start of the year has helped to buffer the loss of oil exports, says J.P. Morgan.... [more]

• Oil prices hit highest level since Iran war's start.... [more]

• U.S. Economy Grew 2% in Early 2026 Even as War in Iran Began to Hit Energy Prices. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2% annual rate in the first three months of the year, a period including first weeks of conflict.... [more]

• Demand destruction: How the Iran war could rattle or break the US economy.... [more]

• President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Thursday calling for a new government website where people in the United States can find and compare private-sector retirement savings accounts, aiming to help millions.... [more]

• Markets are underpricing the risk of Middle East pullback in AI, says tech investor Jack Selby.... [more]

• Shares of Blue Owl, the private credit firm at the center of recent jitters over exposure to software companies, jumped 10% in trading Thursday after executives disclosed sizable gains tied to SpaceX..... [more]

• Musk lays out his souring relationship with OpenAI in a second day of testimony.... [more]

• Elon Musk wrangled with Sam Altman's lawyer on Thursday over the timing of his decision to sue OpenAI and whether he ​knew about discussions to turn it into a for-profit company, as he was cross-examined in a trial.... [more]

• Palantir’s stock could rise from this ‘underpenetrated’ sector core to its DNA.... [more]

• Gary Marcus think Big Tech firms are dumping way too much money into AI. The researcher and author took Wednesday's earnings bonanza as an opportunity to criticize hyperscalers' capex spending plans, taking aim.... [more]

• FedEx stock hits all-time high of 399.82 USD.... [more]

• AbbVie upgraded to ‘Buy’ as growth outlook strengthens despite competition fears.... [more]

• The Senate has approved a bipartisan resolution to prevent its own members from using prediction markets, banning senators who are often privy to sensitive information from making bets on upcoming events..... [more]

• Is Hertz a meme stock again? Shares soar 20% on Uber partnership. The car-rental firm’s stock rally was also propelling shares of rival Avis higher.... [more]

• President Donald Trump said Thursday he is removing certain tariffs on Scotch whisky after this week’s White House visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom..... [more]

• Mastercard (MA.N), joined Visa (V.N), and American Express (AXP.N), in posting a quarterly profit beat on Thursday, highlighting spending resilience as well as allaying fears of a slowdown in the face ​of growing pressures..... [more]

• The euro zone economy isn't facing stagflation even as growth and inflation risks intensify, European Central Bank chief Christine ​Lagarde said on Thursday..... [more]

• Bank of England warns ‘higher inflation unavoidable’ after holding interest rates. Governor says decision to keep rates at 3.75% reasonable given unpredictability of events unfolding in Middle East.... [more]

• Traders on Thursday slightly tempered their bets that the European Central Bank will hike interest rates three times this ​year, after policymakers flagged the trade-off between rising inflation and the hit to growth from higher energy prices..... [more]

• Why are UK prices rising more quickly?.... [more]

• Three million UK households are being forced to skip meals as consumers resort to drastic measures to deal with rising costs, according to a Which? report published on Thursday..... [more]

• Decouple from China? Beijing now has a law against it. Multinationals that shift suppliers or hedge China exposure now risk being branded saboteurs of national supply chain security.... [more]

• Chinese firms face pressure on AI investments as US peers’ spending keeps soaring.... [more]

• Yen Soars as Japan Intervenes After Issuing ‘Final’ Warning.... [more]

• Delta Electronics (2308.TW), a major provider of power supply and ​cooling solutions for AI datacentres, warned that ‌it expects costs to rise in the coming quarters, with oil prices rising and ongoing material shortages..... [more]

• A son overlooked and a jailed tycoon: Inside Samsung's succession drama.... [more]

• Samsung, SK Hynix flag record supply squeeze in memory market as AI demand soars. South Korea’s memory chip giants warn of a prolonged crunch, with worried Samsung customers already pre-booking memory capacity for 2027.... [more]

• Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran on Thursday said the Indian economy is well placed to withstand external disruptions and emerge stronger, asserting that the country’s macroeconomic strength built in recent years.... [more]

• India cuts export duties on diesel and jet fuel, leaves domestic duties unchanged.... [more]

• RBI’s Short Dollar Book Surges Past $100 Billion for First Time.... [more]

• 4 charts show how war is throttling Iran's economy. The war in the Middle East is entering its third month, and Tehran is struggling..... [more]

• Opinion - Nils Pratley: If you’re not Thames, the water looks lovely for investors. Share prices of United Utilities and Severn Trent show that investors seem keen to throw capital at the right firms.... [more]