Markets

Australia’s share market has been smashed in the opening minutes of trade this morning, led by a rout in mining stocks.

Rising inflation and the threat of further interest rate hikes by the Reserve Bank are keeping a lid on a return to form for Dan Murphy’s and BWS owner Endeavour Group.

A mysterious Chinese investor has abruptly aborted attempts to overthrow Northern Minerals’ leadership.

Reserve Bank chief Michele Bullock has suggested the Middle East conflict could worsen Australia’s inflation crisis and even spark another rate rise this month. But she also hinted at something very unexpected.

The market’s energy sector cushioned losses elsewhere, storming 5.5 per cent higher as the spot price of Brent crude oil leapt to as high as $US82.37 a barrel.

Australia’s gold mining majors collectively gained about $7 billion on Monday as the US-Israel war on Iran gives the precious metal yet another price boost.

Share markets whipsawed on Monday in response to the US attack on Iran. There are the stocks copping the biggest sell-off.

Harvey Norman chair Gerry Harvey reckons consumers have cast aside cost-of-living pressures to stock up on AI-led computers and mobile devices, helping it deliver a 15 per cent increase in half-year profit.

Coles chief Leah Weckert says while this month’s interest rate rise has knocked consumer confidence, the supermarket giant is yet to see the impacts on shopping behaviour.

The biggest risk to Bitcoin is running out of new buyers as its supporters and crypto exchanges preach about its virtues as an inflation hedge.

Woolworths boss Amanda Bardwell says there has been a ‘gradual increase’ in the number of crunched consumers seeking out promotions since the Reserve Bank hiked interest rates this month.

Shares in the Sydney-founded company joined a tech stock rout Tuesday, on worries they will lose business to artificial intelligence giants such as OpenAI, which owns ChatGPT