The Australian share market has closed higher after Westpac shares jumped after the bank posted a $4 billion profit in its half-yearly results — up 22 per cent compared to this time last year.
It comes as the federal government prepares to hand down its budget on Tuesday night.
Look back on 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.
Key events
Live updates
Here's how the market finished for the day
By Kate Ainsworth
- ASX 200 : +0.8% to 7,277 points
- All Ords: +0.8% to 7,472 points
- Australian dollar: +0.5% at 67.84 US cents
- On Wall Street: Dow +1.7%, S&P 500 +1.9%, Nasdaq +2.25%
- In Europe: FTSE 100 +1.0%, Stoxx 50 +1.25%
- Spot gold: +0.2% at $US2,021.79/ounce
- Brent crude: +0.7% at $US75.84/barrel
- Iron ore: -0.7% to $US98.70 a tonne
- Bitcoin: -4.4% at $US28,221
ASX closes higher, led by resources and energy sectors
By Kate Ainsworth
The ASX has finished higher for the day, up +0.8% to 7,277 points.
The gains were led by the energy and resources sectors, up 2.5% and 1.7% respectively, while the industrials sector dropped 1.5% by market close.
Lynas remained the top performer all day and finished up +12%, with Life360 the second-best stock, gaining 7.7%.
Other big movers for the day were:
- Core Lithium +6.7%
- Iluka Resources +5.1%
- Pilbara Minerals +4.6%
At the other end, Syrah Resources was the worst performer, finishing -5.4%, while Block Inc also finished down 5.1%.
Other stocks that finished the day lower included:
- Imugene -4.2%
- Bellevue Gold -2.6%
- Polynovo -2.4%
And that brings today's markets blog to a close for this budget eve — but we'll be back to do it all again tomorrow for what I like to call fiscal Christmas!
Until then, you can stay up-to-date with the news here on the ABC News website and on our ABC News app, where you can subscribe to our range of alerts for the latest news.
Big four banks earn combined $16.77 billion in half-yearly results
By Kate Ainsworth
Analysis from EY shows Australia's big four banks reported combined statutory earnings of $16.77 billion in their half-yearly results — a 10.8% increase compared to this time last year.
But EY says the major banks are walking a "challenging tightrope" and will have to manage competing demands from investors, customers, regulators and government in "an increasingly uncertain and volatile backdrop".
EY says cash rate rises are boosting revenues and net interest margins, while higher earnings have pushed up return on equity, although some signs of mortgage stress are emerging.
"Australia's major banks are walking a tightrope as headwinds for the sector intensify. The resilience of the Australian economy continued to support credit growth and quality throughout the first half of the year," said EY Oceania Banking and Capital Markets Leader, Doug Nixon.
"However, intense competition in response to retail credit growth compression, coupled with rising funding costs, amplified by the recent dislocation in financial markets, will likely erode the benefits the banks have gained from the higher interest rate environment.
"So, while Australia's major banks remain strong and resilient, pressure on net interest margins, combined with the increasingly uncertain operating environment, means they face a complex high-wire balancing act when it comes to managing profitable growth, customer expectations, investment priorities and shareholder returns."
Binance resumes bitcoin withdrawals after 'large volume' of transactions
By Kate Ainsworth
The world's largest crypto-currency exchange, Binance, has resumed bitcoin withdrawals after it was stopped twice today due to a large volume of pending transactions.
The company tweeted that it had temporarily closed withdrawals because there were too many transactions, and its team was working on a fix.
It isn't the first time Binance has suspended transactions, either.
Back in March, it stopped deposits and withdrawals because of what it described as "technical issues".
The price of bitcoin is down to its lowest in nearly a week, at around $uS28,200.
Withdrawals have since resumed.
$14.6 billion cost of living relief package won't make inflation worse, treasurer says
By Kate Ainsworth
Speaking on RN Breakfast earlier, Treasurer Jim Chalmers told host Patricia Karvelas that the impending cost of living relief package won't add to inflation.
The $14.6 billion package will include energy bill relief, as well as changes to JobSeeker and Commonwealth rental assistance.
You can listen back to his full chat below:
ASX moving higher at lunch as materials and energy stocks rally
By Kate Ainsworth
The ASX is continuing to gain throughout trade today, up 0.7% as of 1pm AEST to 7,266 points.
The gains are largely thanks to boosts in the energy and materials sectors, while Westpac is continuing to pick up after its half-yearly results, up 2.3%.
Here's how the top five movers are currently looking:
- Lynas Rare Earths +10.8%
- Core Lithium +7.3%
- Life360 +7.1%
- Iluka Resources +5.3%
- Pilbara Minerals +4.8%
Meanwhile at the other end, the five worst performers are a mixed bag:
- Block -5.4%
- Syrah Resources -4.7%
- Macquarie Group -2.4%
- Polynovo -1.9%
- Bellevue Gold -1.8%
Here's how the market's faring as of 1pm AEST
By Kate Ainsworth
- ASX 200 : +0.7% to 7,266 points
- All Ords: +0.7% to 7,461 points
- Australian dollar: +0.2% at 67.63 US cents
- On Wall Street: Dow +1.7%, S&P 500 +1.9%, Nasdaq +2.25%
- In Europe: FTSE 100 +1.0%, Stoxx 50 +1.25%
- Spot gold: +0.2% at $US2,020.23/ounce
- Brent crude: +0.2% at $US75.46/barrel
- Iron ore: -0.7% to $US98.70 a tonne
- Bitcoin: -4.2% at $US28,297
PRRT changes could have collected 'a lot more revenue', former ACCC chair says
By Kate Ainsworth
We can expect to hear a lot about changes to the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax (PRRT for short) in tomorrow's federal budget — with the government flagging changes to collect $2.4 billion over four years.
The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) has also endorsed the changes to the tax, but says it must be the last.
It's not exactly a small amount of money, but former chair of the ACCC Rod Sims says he would have gone further, boosting the budget's bottom line even more.
You can listen to his full chat with RN Breakfast's Patricia Karvelas below:
Business conditions are easing but are still at above-average levels
By Kate Ainsworth
That's according to NAB's monthly business survey, which says business conditions eased in April but are still higher than average, due to enduring demand and a strong labour market.
But it's not the same story for business confidence — it remains below average, despite a minor rise last month.
NAB chief economist Alan Oster says business conditions remain strong, particularly in transport, utilities and mining, while construction remains the softest.
"[This] reflects the ongoing challenge of elevated input prices putting pressure on profits for businesses in the building sector," he said.
"[Business] confidence is still below average but has stabilised around 0 index points over recent months.
"A zero reading for confidence in the survey indicates that an equal share of firms are optimistic as pessimistic, which highlights how the outlook is finely balanced.
"Overall, the survey shows the economy remains resilient."
Looking for comprehensive federal budget coverage?
By Kate Ainsworth
Let my colleagues answer all of your burning questions about the budget and help you make sense of it all.
They're putting together a special half-hour coverage of The Business dedicated to all things budget tomorrow night from 9:30pm AEST.
From expert analysis from business leaders and economists to insights from our specialist reporters who have crunched the numbers, here's a little taste of what you can expect:
'Other people doing dumb things' will create investing opportunities: Warren Buffett
By Kate Ainsworth
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett fielded a number of shareholder questions during an AGM, including about the future of the US economy.
Buffett was asked about the future of investing in particular as AI becomes more prevalent, before he boiled down his value investing strategy to a simple sentence: "What gives you opportunities is other people doing dumb things."
"In the 58 years we’ve been running Berkshire, I would say there’s been a great increase in the number people doing dumb things, and they do big dumb things," he said.
In layman's terms — investors focused on value are presented with investment opportunities when other people make bad decisions.
You can watch his full response to the question below:
ASX opens higher, led by resources gains
By Kate Ainsworth
As expected, the Australian share market has opened higher for the week, up 0.9% at the start of trade.
There are big gains across the resources sector, namely Lynas — the Malaysian-based company announced it can continue to operate until January 1, 2024 after a licence variation.
Previously its licence was set to expire on July 1.
That's been music to the ears of investors, with its share price up 11% so far.
Other big movers so far include:
- Lake Resources +5%
- Karoon Energy +3.8%
- Core Lithium +3.1%
- Champion Iron +2.9%
At the other end, Bellevue Gold has dropped the most so far — it's down 2%.
The other major falls have gone to:
- De Grey Mining -1.6%
- Evolution Mining +1.3%
- Cochlear -1.1%
- Capricorn Metals -1%
And unsurprisingly, Westpac has had some positive movement — so far its share price is up 3% thanks to its mammoth $4 billion profit posted in its half-yearly results.
Here's how the market's looking at 10:15am AEST
By Kate Ainsworth
- ASX 200 : +0.9% to 7,288 points
- All Ords: +0.9% to 7,484 points
- Australian dollar: flat at 67.51 US cents
- On Wall Street: Dow +1.7%, S&P 500 +1.9%, Nasdaq +2.25%
- In Europe: FTSE 100 +1.0%, Stoxx 50 +1.25%
- Spot gold: flat at $US2,016.43/ounce
- Brent crude: flat at $US75.30/barrel
- Iron ore: -0.7% to $US98.70 a tonne
- Bitcoin: -3.1% at $US28,597
Watch: Finance minister tight-lipped on potential budget surplus
By Kate Ainsworth
When asked by News Breakfast's Michael Rowland about whether the federal government will deliver a surplus, finance minister Katy Gallagher wasn't giving anything away, but said there's "significant improvements in the short-term".
Budget to include $1.9 billion package to extend single parent payments
By Kate Ainsworth
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is speaking in Perth and has mentioned another cost of living relief measure coming in tomorrow night's budget.
He's announced the extension of the financial safety net for single parent families, by raising the cut-off age for the youngest child of a single parent from 8 to 14 years.
That change will see a fortnightly increase by $176.90 a fortnight, and will cost the budget some $1.9 billion over the next four years, to 2026-27.
The change reverses a decision that was made by the Gillard government.
Will the cost of living relief package be inflationary?
By Kate Ainsworth
Finance minister Katy Gallagher says the government has "been mindful" that their decisions in the budget won't drive up inflation.
She's told News Breakfast the measures have been "very carefully calibrated" and "carefully targeted".
"We've been really mindful of that [inflation] as we've been putting the decisions in," she said.
"It's affordable because we've been making savings on the other side of the budget. We're trying to do a few things, cost of living relief, investing in the future production side of the economy, but also repairing the budget at the same time to deal with the debt and deficit that we inherited.
"Budgets are always hundreds if not thousands of decisions working together to produce the final outcome. People will judge that on Tuesday night.
"But we've been very mindful of those cost of living pressures Australians as we've been finalising it."
What's in the $14.6 billion cost of living package in the budget?
By Kate Ainsworth
Let's unpack what's going to be one of the centrepieces of the federal government's budget tomorrow night.
One of the key measures that makes up this $14.6 billion relief package over four years includes a $1.5 billion energy bill subsidy for more than 5 million households and 1 million small businesses.
Those eligible (pensioners, small businesses, and those on income support) will receive up to $500 relief on their power bills, but the size of the assistance depends on where you live.
You can hear more about the energy bill relief package in tomorrow night's budget here:
Westpac records $4 billion net profit in half-year results
By Kate Ainsworth
Westpac is the latest major bank to post its half-yearly results, recording a $4 billion net profit — up 22% compared to this time last year.
The bank is also increasing dividends to 70 cents per share, an increase of 15%.
Westpac says the increase to its net profit was boosted by improving margins, thanks to rising interest rates and growth in home and business loans.
Here's the state of play as of 7:30am AEST
By Kate Ainsworth
- ASX SPI 200 futures: +0.9% to 7,284
- Australian dollar: 67.47 US cents
- On Wall Street: Dow +1.7%, S&P 500 +1.9%, Nasdaq +2.25%
- In Europe: FTSE 100 +1.0%, Stoxx 50 +1.25%
- Spot gold: $US2,016.54
- Iron ore: $US98.70/tonne
- Bitcoin: $US28,987.23
ASX set to open higher on federal budget eve
By Kate Ainsworth
Good morning and welcome to another week — it's Monday, May 8 and budget eve.
If you're as excited as I am about the budget (you are on a markets and financial blog, after all) you'll have keenly spotted the federal government is out spruiking a near-$15 billion cost of living package to be unveiled in tomorrow night's budget.
The $14.6 billion support package over four years is aimed to ease pressure on households and businesses, including $1.5 billion for electricity bill relief for 5.5 million households and 1 million small businesses.
(I'll unpack what we know about the relief package shortly.)
On the markets front, we can expect the local sharemarket to open higher with ASX futures up, and greater investor sentiment thanks to all three major benchmarks gaining.
Investors are also waiting for Westpac's half yearly results, which have just dropped as I post this.
Let's get into it, shall we?
