Your markets briefing: the ASX, interest rates, inflation, and the global economy — the moves that set the day's agenda for Australian business and investors.
Cotality’s national index fell 1.2% in October, leaving values 6.7% below their March peak. Brisbane and Perth are now falling faster than Sydney, and sales volumes have slumped.
ABS data show the price of imports eased in the September quarter as the Strait of Hormuz gradually reopened, while export prices rose 1.4% on gas and coal. Over the year, import prices are still up 5.5%.
1 Nov 2026
Defensive sectors led the month while materials and technology fell, and a record one-day loss for Alphabet set the tone for the final session before the RBA meets.
31 Oct 2026
ABS data show final demand producer prices up 3.6% over the year, with construction, rents and wage-driven services offsetting a sharp fall in refined fuel prices.
30 Oct 2026
Hotter-than-expected September figures, led by housing and fuel, have markets betting heavily that the RBA will lift rates on Tuesday 3 November.
29 Oct 2026
The benchmark index climbed 2.4% this week as investors positioned ahead of the RBA's June decision.
11 Oct 2026
APRA's proposed cuts to standardised risk weights for infrastructure, corporate and development lending could free up billions in bank capital, easing pre-sales hurdles for Sydney's growth-corridor developments.
8 Oct 2026
Australia's new digital asset law brings a new vocabulary with it. Exchanges will be using these words from 2027. Here is what they mean in plain English.
5 Oct 2026
A strong economy and a falling market look like a contradiction. There is a simple mechanism behind it, and once you understand it, market moves around rate decisions start to make sense.
1 Oct 2026
ASIC's grace period for digital asset businesses ended on 30 September. Firms that applied for a licence in time are now in the queue. Those that did not risk heavy penalties, well before Australia's new crypto law begins.
1 Oct 2026
The US sharemarket is more concentrated than at any time in six decades, and the bubble talk is everywhere. The comparison with the dot-com era holds on some measures and falls apart on others.
1 Oct 2026
Bulk commodity prices found support on fresh policy signals from Beijing.
28 Sep 2026
Australia added 39,500 workers in August and still posted its highest jobless rate since late 2021. A rush of new job seekers explains the paradox, and it hands the Reserve Bank the cooling it has been waiting for.
24 Sep 2026
NAB's closely watched survey has turned negative for the first time since the pandemic. This time the culprit is a cost squeeze, and it is eating into profits.
24 Sep 2026
Australia's median dwelling value makes a tidy headline. Split it by city and it describes almost no one's market, and the gaps between capitals have shifted sharply in the past year.
2 Sep 2026
US equities posted their best session in months after inflation data came in below expectations.
26 Aug 2026
A broad greenback pullback has given emerging market central banks room to pause rate hikes.
2 Aug 2026
The Aussie dollar found its footing this week as steady Chinese demand for iron ore offset broader risk-off sentiment.
30 Jul 2026
The yen has strengthened sharply as traders price a narrowing gap between US and Japanese rates.
9 Jul 2026
Crude fell sharply after US inventory data showed a much larger stockpile increase than forecast.
15 Jun 2026
Sovereign bond yields fell across major markets as soft manufacturing data reignited growth concerns.
22 May 2026
