Live: ASX extends gains as Wall Street rallies

Markets live updates: ASX extends gains as Wall Street rallies, oil price drops

By business reporters Adelaide Miller and Yiying Li

• Topic:Stock Market

Posted Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 7:29am

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 7:29am

, updated Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 1:26pm

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 1:26pm

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The Australian share market has extended gains during the trading day.  

Meanwhile, the price of oil has been trading around $US84 per barrel. 

Follow the day’s financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters on our live blog

Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice

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Key Event

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 12:12pm

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 12:12pm

Market snapshot

By Yiying Li

• ASX 200: +1.1% to 9,116 points
• Australian dollar: +0.2% at 70.12 US cents
• Wall Street: S&P 500 +1.5%, Dow +1.3%, Nasdaq +2.1%
• Europe: Dax +1.5%, FTSE -0.1%, Eurostoxx 600 +0.5%
• Asia: Nikkei -0.2%, Hang Seng -0.5%, Kospi -0.2%
• Spot gold: +0.1% to $US4,057/ounce
• Oil: Brent +0.8% at $US84.42/barrel
• Iron ore: +0.2% to $US93.80/tonne
• Bitcoin: -0.1% to $US63,728

Prices current at around 12:12pm AEST

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Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 1:25pm

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 1:25pm

ABS household spending data is surprising: analyst

By Yiying Li

It’s surprising to see the ABS data showing discretionary spending rose at a higher rate than spending on essentials, according to Louise Southall, an economist at Xero

“With the ongoing cost-of-living pressures, we’d expect budgets to be skewed towards the expenses that can’t be avoided like mortgages, rent and fuel,” Ms Southall noted

The latest Xero Small Business Insights data showed small business sales rose at 6.5% year-on-year in the June quarter, with discretionary industries including retail trade, hospitality, and arts and recreation seeing the lowest sales growth, she added

“This suggests Australians are directing their discretionary spending towards big businesses at the expense of the small business economy

“If Australians redirected just 10% of their household spending from big businesses to small businesses, it could mean $76 billion more injected into the small business economy which is made up of more than 2.7 million businesses who employ more than five million people

“We know everyone’s circumstances are different, but we encourage Australians to support small businesses when they can. Every purchase from a small business is an investment in local families, jobs, and communities.”

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 1:05pm

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 1:05pm

ACCC extends relaxed free-range egg labelling during bird flu scare

By Yiying Li

The consumer watchdog has extended its pause on free-range egg labelling enforcement as some farmers move hens indoors to protect them from H5 bird flu on state government advice

Usually eggs can only be labelled as free range if producers meet several requirements for hens, including access to outdoors and stocking densities of no more than 10,000 hens per hectare

As bird flu cases continue to rise, the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) is allowing farmers to keep chickens indoors and still use free-range cartons

My colleagues Jane McNaughton, Justine Longmore and Selina Green have more

Key Event

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 12:45pm

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 12:45pm

Household spending up 0.8pc in June

By Yiying Li

Household spending rose 0.8% in June 2026, according to seasonally adjusted figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

This followed a rise of 1.2% in May and a fall of 1.0% in April, the ABS said

Tom Lay, ABS head of business statistics, said the rise in June was driven by discretionary spending rising for the second month in a row at 1.2%, thanks to continued strength in transport, and recreation and culture

“New vehicle sales were the standout within transport this month, driving a 3% rise,” Mr Lay said

“Electric vehicle sales increased significantly over the year and have continued that trend in June, accounting for a growing share of overall new vehicle sales as households adjust their spending behaviour in response to rising fuel prices.”

Air travel spending was the second largest contributor to the strength in transport spending, as it returned to levels seen before the travel disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict that began in March 2026, the data showed

Fuel spending has eased from the peak observed in March, as world oil prices fell and the reduction in the fuel excise duty from 1 April until 30 June continues to pass through to households, according to the ABS

Experimental data produced by the ABS suggests that the volume of fuel spending increased by 7.8% in June, reflecting a 10.9% decrease in prices. This follows a 0.2% increase in May

The ABS data also showed household spending on recreation and culture went up by 1.4%

Mr Lays added the rise came from a few categories in June, with households spending more on electronic goods, performing arts and other live entertainment, and gambling activity likely supported by major sporting events

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 12:20pm

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 12:20pm

Qantas says no decisions made on speuclating job cuts

By Yiying Li

Qantashas said it’s been looking at ways to accelerate the use of technology and AI to modernise how it works and deliver better outcomes

 Emerging media reports have revealed that Qantas is mulling offshore up to 1,000 roles as part of a deal with consulting agency Accenture, as the airline works to cut costs

Qantas said it was in early-stage discussions about the AI use, but no formal agreement has been reached or decisions made yet

“We have added thousands of operational roles in Australia in the past few years, including pilots, cabin crew and engineers and will hire thousands more over the coming years,” a Qantas spokesperson told the ABC

“We also have a technology hub opening in Adelaide next month, with more than 400 roles to be based there.”

The Australian Services Union (ASU) has demanded Qantas stay true to its commitment that there will be no job losses through the implementation of Accenture’s plan

Assistant national secretary Scott Cowen said today’s reporting was a huge concern to th ASU members

“What’s been reported today is that the airline is considering a proposal by Accenture, that’s not in dispute,” Mr Cowen said

“What matters is that Qantas has informed [us] that there is no plan to offshore any Australian jobs, and we demand the airline stay true to these commitments

“If that commitment from Qantas turns out to be worthless, it won’t just be a broken promise to the ASU

“It will be a deep breach of trust with the Australian public who have stuck by this airline through everything it has put them through.”

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 12:05pm

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 12:05pm

Australian shares extend gains

By Yiying Li

Australian shares edged higher, extending gains at the open

The ASX 200 rose 1.25% to 9,131 points as of 11:56am AEST, after rising 0.5% on Monday

The Technologysector led the market, up 1.8%, followed by Financialsand Healthcare, both up 1.7%

Consumer Non-Cyclicals was the only sector in the red, down 0.1%

Key Event

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 11:50am

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 11:50am

Older people open to downsizing but undersupply of smaller homes and stamp duty among barriers

By Adelaide Miller

As 78-year-old Eleanor Shearing looks over the cluttered boxes around the place she’s lived in for 50 years, a mix of nostalgia and anxiety set in

Seaford, a coastal suburb of Adelaide, is where she raised a family, formed a community and made a life

But her three-bedroom home is now getting harder to live in, and on a single income, it’s also becoming harder to pay for

After four years of trying to downsize,Ms Shearing fears she might have to leave Seaford entirely

You can read the full report from Ahmed Yussuf below:

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 11:35am

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 11:35am

Sportsbet owner scraps rewards club

By Jasper Wells

Sportsbetowner Flutter Entertainment has scrapped its “rewards club” company Sportsdream Rewards

The lucrative industry claims to have given away hundreds of millions of dollars to members, who pay a monthly fee to join the clubs, and are entered into draws to win prizes, which can include cash, cars or even houses

The company’s website has been scrapped, and its social media accounts mostly wiped

In a statement on Facebook the company said: “we’re hitting pause on Sportsdream Rewards as we take some time to properly review how things are going and decide what comes next.”

The club was operated by a company called Free To Play Australia Pty Ltd, and didn’t promote its links to Sportsbet, despite the paper trail revealing close ties

Gambling reform advocates said the company was just a funnel to Sportsbet’s more significant gambling activities,and let the company get around the self-exclusion register

The federal government has pledged to crack down on “dodgy lotteries”, which includes rewards clubs, but there is limited enforcement of existing regulation

The ABC has reached out to Flutter Entertainment for comment

If you have any experience with Rewards Clubs, feel free to send me an email: wells.jasper@abc.net.au

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 11:25am

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 11:25am

Small business insurance problems aired

By Daniel Ziffer

I’m in a Melbourne hotel at a hearing of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services

The committee is examining issues in small business insurance and we’re currently hearing from insurance brokers who operate in areas that have higher-than-normal risk of natural disasters, such as the Ovens Valley

A consistent theme is that the exit of insurers from some geographies increases the pressure on the dwindling few remaining. More to come …

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 11:20am

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 11:20am

AFCA complaints driven by investment collapses and superannuation disputes

By Adelaide Miller

We’ve got more detail on the AFCA complaints,let’s break down the numbers further

The largest growth in complaints was driven by major investment collapses and rising superannuation disputes. 

AFCA’s preliminary data snapshot as at June 30 showed:

• Banking and finance 66,971 complaints (up 23%)
• General insurance 36,022 complaints (up 5%)
• Superannuation 8,755 complaints (up 42%)
• Investments and advice 6,542 complaints (up 56%)
• Life insurance 1,561 complaints (up 3%)

Investments and advice complaints were primarily driven by the Shield Master Fundand First Guardian collapses. 

Complaints alleging failure to act in the client’s best interest remain the top issue with a 65% increase on last year, up to 2,081

AFCA’s chief customer officer Deborah Jenkins says these matters are “complex and can be incredibly stressful for individuals and their families”

“While most financial advice firms do the right thing, we are seeing a significant number of complaints stem from major financial collapses that have affected thousands of consumers,” she says

Superannuation complaints increased 42% during the year, with delays in claim handling, service issues and rejection of superannuation insurance claims emerging as the most common issues

Rejection of claim complaints increased 82%compared with the previous year

Scam complaints rose 12% to 6,706following a decline the previous year

“Scammers are becoming more sophisticated in how they target consumers. Resolving disputes is important but preventing scams before they happen is even better,” Ms Jenkins says

Key Event

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 11:05am

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 11:05am

Complaints to AFCA at record high

By Adelaide Miller

Australians have lodged the highest number of complaints with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) on record

It’s also the third consecutive year the complaints have exceeded 100,000

In the 2025-26 financial year, 119,949 complaints were lodged with AFCA

AFCA’s Chief Customer Officer Deborah Jenkins says these numbers highlight the challenges many consumers continue to face at the same time as “cost-of-living challenges and economic uncertainty”

“Every complaint represents someone’s experience, and collectively they provide a view of where consumers are struggling,” says Ms Jenkins

“By working with us and acting on these insights, firms can help prevent recurring issues that lead to complaints with AFCA.”

The three mostcomplained about financial products were:

• Personal transaction accounts
• Motor vehicle insurance 
• Credit cards. 

The top threeissues were:

• Delay in claim handling
• Service quality
• Claim rejection

Banking and finance remained AFCA’s largest complaint area, with financial difficulty complaints increasing 17% and credit reporting complaints rising 22% across the year

“These numbers point to opportunities for firms to strengthen hardship support, improve communication with customers and ensure accurate credit reporting, helping resolve issues before they become disputes,” says Ms Jenkins

Key Event

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 10:50am

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 10:50am

Corporate watchdog moves to shut down developer’s activities with fresh court action

By Nassim Khadem

The corporate watchdog ASIC is seeking orders from the Federal Court to restrain Melbourne-based property developer Paul Chiodo’s alleged fundraising activities

Mr Chiodo, who led the Shield Master Fund before it was put into liquidation in late 2024, is already being sued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for allegedly breaching his director duties related to the now collapsed Shield fund

Mr Chiodo has continually denied any wrongdoing and argues he was unfairly targeted by the regulator. 

ASIC has now taken fresh court action against Mr Chiodo, noting five investors are fighting to get their money back from an overseas investment fund linked to Mr Chiodo

ASIC alleges that in August 2025, Royce Capital raised $1.54 million from five Australian SMSF investors, purportedly for investment in one or more offshore funds – two are registered in Cayman Islands and one in Delaware

The regulator alleges that Royce Capital provided financial services without holding an Australian financial services licence, and that Louie Kortesis and Paul Chiodo were involved in Royce Capital’s alleged unlicensed conduct

ASIC is seeking orders from the Federal Court to restrain Royce Capital Investments, Royce (Aust) Real Estate (RARE), Mr Kortesis and Mr Chiodo from advertising, promoting or accepting money in Australia for three overseas funds: Royce Global Investments LP (registered in the Cayman Islands), Royce Global Real Estate LP (registered in the Cayman Islands) and Royce Private Investments Fund LP (registered in Delaware, USA)

The regulator’s proposed orders would also restrain Royce Capital, RARE, Mr Kortesis and Mr Chiodo from advertising, promoting or accepting money for financial products generally in Australia

ASIC alleges that Royce Capital and/or RARE made misleading or deceptive representations in brochures provided to some investors, including to the effect that they would receive a guaranteed or fixed return of 13 per cent per annum

Mr Chiodo told the ABC he rejected ASIC’s claims

“We are not the promotors in any way,” he said

“The investors’ capital and its 13 per cent returns are in the fund and it was instructed for this payment to occur on the 17 July

“All five investors had this communication, to this effect, also on 17 July 2026.”

A previous ABC investigation found the First Guardian, Shield superannuation disasters exposed deep flaws in Australia’s $4.3 trillion retirement system. More on that below.

Key Event

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 10:35am

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 10:35am

ASX trading higher – a breakdown

By Adelaide Miller

TheASX 200 has begun Tuesday morning trading up +0.3% 9,044 points

The Healthcare sector is up the top, while Consumer Non-Cyclicals is down the bottom

Of the major stocks,63 are in the red, 5are unchanged, and 132 are gaining

Here are the top movers, with DroneShieldup about +8.0%

Here are the bottom movers, with Predictive Discovery down -7.1%

The Aussie dollar is trading at70 US cents

Key Event

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 10:20am

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 10:20am

Billion-dollar property collapse highlights private credit danger

By Adelaide Miller

Here is chief business correspondent Ian Verrender’s latest piece of analysis on Jon Adgemis

Jon Adgemis managed to rack up $1.8 billion in debt— much of it from private credit firms — over a hotel portfolio

It has raised alarm bells over the private credit industry, which operates withlittle or no regulation

Many who invested in Jon Adgemis’s businesses were not doing so directly. Instead, they’d invested in a private credit fund that had promised double-digit returns over properties with claims they were protected by strong mortgage backing

In some cases, the credit funds were charging upwards of 20 per cent intereston loans to developers, indicating the loans were high risk

You can read the full piece here:

Key Event

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 10:05am

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 10:05am

Market snapshot

By Adelaide Miller

• ASX 200: +0.3% to 9,042 points
• Australian dollar: flat at 69.99 US cents
• Wall Street: S&P 500 +1.5%, Dow +1.3% Nasdaq +1.8%
• Europe: Dax +1.5%, FTSE -0.1%, Eurostoxx 600 +0.5%
• Spot gold: +0.2% to $US4,059/ounce
• Oil: Brent Crude flat at $US83.77/barrel
• Iron ore: -2.1% to $US93.90/tonne
• Bitcoin: -0.4% to $US63,525

Prices current at around 10:05am AEST

Key Event

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 10:03am

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 10:03am

ASX opens in the green

By Adelaide Miller

The Aussie share market has opened up +0.3% to 9,046 points

More to come

Key Event

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 9:43am

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 9:43am

Cost of running a small business has increased almost 25 per cent since the start of COVID

By Adelaide Miller

AMP Bank GO Index has revealed small business costs have jumped almost 25% since COVID

The bank says this helps explain why many Aussies continue to facehigher prices for everyday goods and services despite inflation easing

The costs may also rise further

Here are some of the key findings:

• Insurance costs have risen more than 50%
• Fuel is up 38%
• Interest costs up 36%
• Electricity up 26%
• Rent up 23%
• Wages up more than 20%

Across the country there are2.7 million small businesses,which employ millions more Aussies

AMP Deputy Chief Economist Diana Mousina says many small businesses remain under pressure, and are constantly weighing up whether to absorb rising costs, or pass on to customers, who are already feeling the pinch

“While inflation has come down from its peak, many small business costs remain high,” she says

“That creates a difficult balancing act, especially when margins are already tight and consumers are feeling their own inflationary pressure and are increasingly price sensitive.”

Key Event

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 9:20am

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 9:20am

ICYMI: House price downturn deepens beyond falls in Sydney and Melbourne

By Adelaide Miller

The downturn in the national housing market is no longer confined to Sydney and Melbourne, with Brisbaneand Adelaiderecording declines in house prices in July according to property data firm Cotality.  

Here is last night’s report from business correspondent David Taylor:

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Key Event

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 9:05am

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 9:05am

Wall St neared ‘record high’, according to analyst

By Adelaide Miller

Capital.com senior analyst Kyle Rodda says the Wall Street results were so strong, they neared “a record high as the power of strong earnings growth and diminishing fears about a hawkish US Federal Reserve drove the market”

He said part of this was driven by recent manufacturing data, and a plunge in the price ofoil. 

“The latest ‘TACO’ (Trump Always Chickens Out) over the weekend and the commencement of talks between the US and Iran on opening the Strait of Hormuz and reviving nuclear negotiations,” he says

“However, crude prices finished off their lows after Iran denied peace talks would take place, keeping alive the very real possibility hostilities will renew again.”

Key Event

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 8:50am

Tue 4 Aug 2026 at 8:50am

Meta, Anthropic, Google, OpenAI to meet Trump officials about AI safety testing

By Adelaide Miller

Meta, Anthropic, OpenAI and Google have been invited to meet White House officialsto discuss voluntary government safety testing for themost advanced U.S. AI models

Anthropic and OpenAI disclosed in recent days that their AI tools breachedthe systems of other companies, stirring concerns among U.S. lawmakers about whether increasingly capable AI models could be used to conduct or facilitate cyberattacks

A White House official said the Trump administration has finalised the details of voluntary cybersecurity tests to measure the hacking capabilities of the most advanced American AI models, and is planning to discuss them with the AI industry. The official did not indicate who would attend the discussions

Meta was invited, a company spokesperson said, as were Anthropic and OpenAI

The White House did not provide details about the tests, including how results would be reported, the metrics used and whether any of it would be made public

A group of 15 Republican state attorneys generalasked OpenAI to preserve all potentially relevant documents related to its disclosure that its AI system escaped containment and hacked AI company Hugging Face.Citing a Reuters report that the rogue agent in one case left notes for how future versions of itself could escape internal guardrails, they wrote that the company may have violated state consumer protection laws

OpenAI said in a statement it takes the letter from the attorneys general seriously and will share a technical report about the Hugging Face attack after it completes a review

The U.S. House of Representatives’ cybersecurity committee asked OpenAI’s Sam Altman to brief them on the attack on Hugging Face

Altman visited the White House last week to discuss details of the voluntary tests and the company’s upcoming AI products, the company said in a statement. In a separate statement, the company said it had asked the Trump administration to put the Commerce Department’s AI safety specialists at the centre of any cybersecurity testing. 

The company pointed to China,whose government has a more centralised strategy on AI compared with the U.S

U.S. President Donald Trump directed his team in June to write a series of tests to assess the hacking capabilitiesof the most advanced American AI systems

The Trump administration has had a rocky relationship with Anthropic.The company earlier this year refused to ‌allow the U.S. military to use its AI models for domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons systems, and the government retaliated by putting it on a national security blacklist

Anthropic said last week that some of its AI models hacked into the systems ofthree companies during cybersecurity tests. That disclosure followed rival OpenAI’s report that one of its AI agents escaped a testing environment and hacked into the systems of the AI company Hugging Face

– Reuters