That's it from us today, and we hope you enjoyed our live coverage.
It's been a busy day with a lot happening!
If you're still looking for a finance fix this evening, catch The Business on ABC News at 8:44pm, after the late news on ABC TV, and any time on ABC iview.
We'll be back bright and early tomorrow morning to guide you through the day.
See you around!
The ASX 200 closed lower today, dropping 73.30 points, or down 0.8%, to 8,745.20 and crossing below its 50-day moving average.
Overall, the market had 81 stocks gaining, 18 unchanged and 101 stocks in the red.
Among companies, the top five movers are:
The bottom five movers are:
When looking at the sectors, Information Technology is the only winner, up 0.4%.
Energy finished at the bottom; down 5.9%, followed by Industrials; down 1.3%, and then Utilities; down 1%.
The US market has finished the Aussie day down 0.3% at 22,261 points.
Price current around 4:19pm AEST
Live updates on the major ASX indices:
HIA chief economist Tim Reardon has called for more housing supply as Australian population grows, driven by overseas migration.
“Australia took in a net inflow of 110,060 overseas migrants in the first quarter of the year, bringing the net inflow for the last 12 months to a total of 315,920,” he said.
“While this represents a continued moderation from earlier inflows, it is still well above the pre-pandemic decade average of less than 220,000.
“The home building industry in Australia needs stable and reliable population settings, not the bust and boom settings seen over the last five years."
Mr Reardon said HIA supported a managed migration system that delivers adequate skilled migrants in construction and building professions and trades to meet Australia’s ongoing housing needs.
“The Australian government creates housing demand through immigration, while state and local governments are responsible for housing supply and the price of homes reflects their ability to work cooperatively.
“The goal of stable and reliable migration pathways has not been balanced with the removal of restrictions on new home building necessary to meet demand.
“The Australian government’s Home Guarantee Scheme to help first home buyers into the market, and the streamlining of state planning systems, are welcome steps in the right direction.
“With time, more supply will be delivered as a result of recent policy announcements."
Several states and territories are now above their pre-pandemic decade population trajectories, led by Western Australia (+142,300) and Queensland (+137,060), in what Mr Reardon described as "particularly impressive" for WA, with just half the total population of QLD.
This is followed by South Australia (+47,520), Tasmania (+15,060), the Australian Capital Territory (+4,850) and the Northern Territory (+2,600).
New South Wales (-66,640) and Victoria (-198,510) are still below their pre-pandemic decade population trajectories.
Australia's oil and gas peak body, the Australian Energy Producers (AEP), says natural gas will play a critical role in helping the federal government meet its 2035 emissions target while securing stable energy.
AEP chief executive Samantha McCulloch said Australia’s oil and gas sector had already done a lot to cut emissions under the Safeguard Mechanism and through the deployment of carbon capture, utilisation and storage technologies.
“Natural gas provides the reliable backup for growing shares of wind and solar in our energy mix,” said Ms McCulloch.
“Gas will need to play an even greater role if Australia is to achieve the ambitious targets announced today, which will require increased action and investment across the economy.
“Continued investment in new gas supply is needed to meet Australia’s long-term energy demand, because without gas, the energy transition becomes harder, more expensive and less reliable.
“Australia’s policies should also recognise the growing opportunity for our LNG exports to deliver energy security and emissions reductions in our region.”
To the contrary, IEEFA's CEO, Amandine Denis-Ryan, said the Treasury modelling clearly showed a continuously declining role for fossil gas in Australia's economy, with a 70 per cent decline expected by 2050 compared to 2025 levels.
"Consistent with our research, the Treasury modelling shows that coal and gas fugitive emissions can be cut by about two-thirds by 2040.
"This will require significant tightening of Safeguard Mechanism settings, which are currently not effective at driving fugitive emissions reductions."
She said that the energy sector plan highlights the importance of energy efficiency, which can deliver a 30 per cent reduction in energy use by 2050, adding gas would only play a temporary role in new iron and steel production, which is then replaced by green hydrogen.
"It is good to see the $5 billion net zero fund to support major investments in industrial decarbonisation and energy efficiency.
"It will also be important to consider financial and capability support for small to medium manufacturers, which have large untapped opportunities to improve their energy efficiency and to electrify, but limited resources.
"Our research cautions against relying on carbon capture and storage technologies to achieve emissions reductions in the energy and resources sectors."
Ms Denis-Ryan added that relying on CCS was unlikely to be economical, compared to renewable-based solutions.
The Financial Times is reporting that China is dropping an antitrust probe into Google.
It comes as Beijing and Washington step up trade negotiations over TikTok and Nvidia at a time of heightened tensions between China and the US.
Reporting with Reuters
Australia’s population rose by 0.5% in Q1 from 25 to 27.5 million people, according to the Commonwealth Bank Economics's latest report.
Western Australia has the largest quarterly increase in population in the first quarter of this year, up by 0.7%, followed by Victoria, up 0.6%,
Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory recorded growth at the national pace of 0.5%, while New South Wales, South Australia and the Northern Territory were softer, all with a growth rate of 0.4%.
Tasmania had the weakest quarterly population growth at 0.1%.
Annually, WA stands out with the strongest rise of 2.3%.
In contrast, Tasmania continues to underperform throughout the year, up just 0.2%, according to the CommBank's report.
Net overseas migration added 110,100 people to the Australian population in the first quarter.
In rolling annual terms, net overseas migration declined 5.6% per quarter to 322,000.
This represents a 36% fall from Q1 2024 and a continued downward trend from a record peak of 555,800 in Q3 of 2023.
Hi,
DT jumping into the blog.
I want to share a statistic with you published today by Commsec/CBA and the ABS.
"In a sign that the labour market is finally softening," CBA economist Harry Ottley said, "hiring has slowed to a monthly average of just 6,100 since May, with overall headcount up just 24,400 in the four-month period."
Did you notice the number? Monthly average jobs gains of just 6,100 since May.
For context, economists say roughly 20,000 jobs need to be created per month, all else equal, to keep unemployment steady.
Indeed the August ABS unemployment data show fewer Australians were looking for work in August, which mean, despite the job losses, the unemployment rate was unchanged.
"Fewer Aussies were looking for work in August with the participation rate – the share of workers who either have a job or looking for one - dropping 0.20 per cent in the month, while employment growth was driven entirely by a lift in part-time positions," Mr Hutley said.
Economists had expected job gains of 21,000 last month.
The three-month average of job growth is now just roughly 7,000 compared to the 2024 average of 33,000.
The jobs market, based on this data set, appears to be softening.
IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said the simultaneous decline in employment and participation showed Australia's jobs market was weakening faster than expected.
"The participation rate, which measures the proportion of the working-age population either employed or actively seeking work, often falls when individuals stop looking for jobs due to perceived lack of opportunities, particularly during economic slowdowns," he noted.
Meanwhile, Sean Langcake from Oxford Economics says employment growth is running out of steam.
However, Mr Langcake said the so far modest increases in the unemployment rate meant the Reserve Bank was unlikely to be unduly concerned.
Read more from our business editor Michael Janda's coverage.
Sectors are mixed, with six of 11 sectors lower today, along with the 200 Index.
Information Technology is the best performing sector, gaining +0.5% and +1.6% for the past five days.