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Staff writers
Updated July 23, 2026 — 12:45pm,first published July 23, 2026 — 5:18am
The Australian sharemarket has pared some of its strong early gains after the release of the nation’s latest job market figures kept the chances of an interest rate rise on the table.
The S&P/ASX 200 was up 56 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 8879 as of 12.42pm AEST, led by the mining and financial sectors, which make up more than half of the local market.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics this morning reported that in June the jobless rate increased by 0.1 percentage points to 4.4 per cent. The under-employment rate also lifted, climbing to 6.5 per cent. The bureau said 76,300 jobs were created last month of which 47,000 were part-time.
The ASX added 0.3 per cent on Wednesday. The Australian dollar was trading at US70.16¢.
In major corporate news, Macquarie Group said this morning its chief executive Shemara Wikramanayake is retiring as its CEO after eight years in the job, to be replaced by the head of its banking arm, Greg Ward.
The investment banking giant said Wikramanayake, who is 64 and has been chief executive since late 2018, will retire from November this year. Ward, 58, is a Macquarie veteran who has run the group’s banking and financial services arm, which houses its rapidly-growing retail bank, since 2013. He joined Macquarie in 1996 and previously served as chief financial officer for 14 years.
The shares were little moved on the news, up 0.5 per cent in early trade. Meanwhile, the big four banks all advanced, with CBA up 1.5 per cent, Westpac up 1.3 per cent, National Australia Bank up 1.6 per cent and ANZ Bank up 1.1 per cent.
James Hardie jumped 6.7 per cent after the building materials maker - which makes most of its earnings in the US - said its June quarter sales beat its own forecasts, coming in at between $US1.45 billion ($2.1 billion) and $US1.48 billion, thanks to stronger-than-expected sales of its home sidings.
Mining giants BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue extended their strong run from Wednesday, up 1.4 per cent, 0.6 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively, in early afternoon trade. The gold miners also continued to rally as the precious metal extended its gains, supported by dip-buyers who scooped it up after prices had drifted lower in recent weeks on concerns that US inflationary pressure from higher oil prices will prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.
Bullion rose as much as 2.1 per cent overnight to climb above $US4160 an ounce, after advancing 1.7 per cent the previous session. Gold miner Northern Star Resources was up 2.7 per cent, Evolution Mining gained 2.9 per cent and Newmont rose 1.5 per cent.
Energy stocks had another strong morning as oil prices continued to climb, hitting a six-week high. Brent crude spiked in post-settlement trading overnight, rising near $US95 a barrel after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they struck two Saudi tankers.
Local oil and gas giant Woodside rose 0.5 per cent, and Santos added 1 per cent, even as it cut its production guidance for the second quarter due to challenges in the ramp-up of its Barossa and Pikka projects, and the timing of cargo receipts. Coal producers Yancoal and Whitehaven were up 1.4 and 2.6 per cent, respectively.
Real estate investment trusts led early gains on the ASX, with warehouse and IT data centre owner Goodman Group up 1.9 per cent, and shopping centre landlords Scentre, Vicinity and Stockland up 2.1 per cent, 0.6 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively.
Tech stocks slumped, with software makers Xero and WiseTech falling 3.9 per cent and 4.5 per cent, while family tracking app Life 360 lost 5.1 per cent.
The ASX’s early gains come even as Wall Street was drifting in mixed trading and oil prices climbed another 3 per cent to a six-week high as fighting continues in the war with Iran.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent, coming off its best day in three weeks, after swinging between modest losses and gains for much of the day. The Dow Jones closed flat and the Nasdaq composite lost 0.6 per cent.
Tesla released its results after the closing bell, reporting negative free cash flow in the second quarter for the first time in more than two years as the Elon Musk-led EV maker accelerated spending on AI infrastructure, battery capacity, robotaxis and next-generation manufacturing. Tesla reported negative free cash flow of $US1.1 billion, compared with analysts’ expectation for cash burn of $US3.3 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. EV sales in the quarter helped assuage some fears for now. Tesla delivered 480,126 vehicles in the second quarter, above Wall Street expectations and up from 384,122 vehicles a year earlier. Shares were down 3.3 per cent in extended trading.
Alphabet topped Wall Street estimates for its second-quarter revenue, buoyed by continued strong demand for its cloud computing services from enterprises worldwide.
Revenue at Google Cloud rose 82 per cent to $US24.8 billion during the quarter ended June, accelerating from the 63 per cent jump reported in the preceding three months. Analysts on average expected a 64 per cent increase, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Shares of the company were flat in extended trading.
The majority of stocks in the S&P 500 rose after more companies reported strong profits for the spring. Expectations are high for the reports, and companies will need to match them after their stock prices already neared records on anticipation for them.
Philip Morris International rose 3.3 per cent after the seller of Marlboro cigarettes reported stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. Its shipments of smoke-free products rose 7.5 per cent.
AT&T climbed 3.5 per cent after reporting a stronger profit than analysts expected. CEO John Stankey said the telecom is accelerating plans to send roughly $US10 billion to shareholders this year through share buybacks.
Super Micro Computer soared 20 per cent after the seller of AI servers said it expects to report stronger profit margins for the latest quarter than it had earlier forecast. It, though, also said that revenue will likely come in at the low end of its forecasted range .
They helped offset an 8.7 per cent drop for GE Vernova, which reported a weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
Stocks broadly also felt pressure from continuing climbs for oil prices, which raise costs for most businesses and erode their profits.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 3.3 per cent to $US94 after briefly topping $US95 in the morning to touch its highest price in nearly six weeks. That’s up from less than $US72 early this month, which is roughly where it was before the war.
Rising oil prices are threatening a reacceleration of inflation. That in turn could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates, which would slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and other investments.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 4.66 per cent from 4.63 per cent late Tuesday and from just 3.97 per cent before the war with Iran began. It’s already helped bring long-term US mortgage rates to their highest levels in nearly a year.
Oil prices have climbed as fighting across the Middle East keeps oil tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz to exit the Persian Gulf. Normally, a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded passes through the narrow strait.
In other international markets, indexes climbed in Europe following a mixed session in Asia. London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.2 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1 per cent for two of the world’s bigger moves.
with AP, Reuters
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