That’s all from our blog today. We’ll catch you again on Monday.
Thanks for your company, and have a great weekend.
That’s all from our blog today. We’ll catch you again on Monday.
Thanks for your company, and have a great weekend.
The All Ords lost 2.2% or 200 points to 8,955 on Friday.
And the ASX 200 index tumbled 2% or 180 points to 8,709.
All sectors were in the red, with real estate (-3.8%), industrials (-3.6%) and tech (-3.3%) leading the losses.
Only five stocks on the benchmark index have gained ground.
Today's worst performer was Web Travel Group, down almost 30%.
That's after the company revealed tax agents were auditing its spanish subsidiary.
Uranium miners like Deep Yellow and Paladin Energy lost 12% and 11%, respectively.
REA Group tumbled 7.8% as it saw a decline in the number of property listings on realestate.com.au despite posting higher earnings.
Rio Tinto was flat after the miner abandoned merger talks with rival Glencore that would have created the world's biggest mining company.
Prices current around 5:00pm AEDT
Live updates on the major ASX indices:
Australia's benchmark share index, the S&P/ASX 200 has fallen sharply.
At 3:45pm AEDT, the index had dropped 2.25%.
MooMoo Australia analyst Michael McCarthy said it was unusual to see so many markets collapse at the same time.
"Panic is spreading," he said, adding that tech shares were being hit hard.
"The combination of so many markets falling at the same time is unnerving investors."
McCarthy told ABC News he wouldn't be surprised to see a market meltdown at some point over the next few trading days.
Australian shares extended losses in afternoon trade in an index-wide sell-off led by miners and banks.
The ASX 200 index slipped 2.2% to 8,693 by 3:30pm AEDT, on track for its weakest session since late November.
The benchmark declined 1.9% over the course of the week, set for its largest loss since mid-November.
Mining stocks extended losses for the second consecutive day, in tandem with a persistent slump in base and precious metal prices. The sector fell 4.5% over the week, on pace for its steepest decline since early April 2025.
Financial stocks declined 1.5%, with top lender the Commonwealth Bank snapping a five-session winning run, down 0.5%. While banks tend to outperform in a higher-for-longer interest rate environment, higher rates can put pressure on borrowers' mortgage-paying capacity.
For the week, however, the sector is on track to rise 1.8%, extending gains into the second straight week.
Reporting with Reuters
Australian shareholders in Rio Tinto have welcomed the mining giant's decision to end merger talks with Glencore, and said it is now up to the company to deliver on a new strategy that it has put so much weight on.
The proposed merger, first announced in January, would have created the world's largest mining company, with a market value exceeding $300 billion. Rio said on Thursday the two companies could not strike a deal that delivered sufficient value to shareholders.
While exact details of any bid were not made public, Rio's investors had feared the miner, looking to build up its copper business, could pay too much to strike a deal with Glencore. Reuters reported Glencore had wanted its shareholders to have 40% of the merged company, citing a source.
"This is positive that Rio appears to be disciplined in not overpaying," said Andy Forster, Argo Investments' senior investment officer. "It would have created a few years of complexity and uncertainty getting the deal done and integrated."
Rio Tinto's Australian-listed shares rose as much as 2.6% to a record high in early trade, but pared those gains to be up about 0.5%. The ASX 200 was down 2%.
"This reinforces Rio's disciplined approach to capital management. We are very pleased to see Simon Trott pass his first test in the seat," said John Ayoub, Wilson Asset Management portfolio manager and Rio investor, referring to Rio Tinto's CEO, who took the helm last August.
"Ultimately it would have been a positive zero-premium merger but not at the takeover valuations that Glencore shareholders wanted," he said, adding Rio should now focus on its existing pipeline of growth projects.
Trott, the CEO of Rio, said under his leadership Rio Tinto would become "stronger, sharper and simpler" as he sought to hone in on Rio's key assets.
The Glencore bid was the "exact opposite" of the strategy laid out by Trott, said Hugh Dive, chief investment officer of Atlas Funds Management, a Rio Tinto shareholder.
"Miners have a terrible long-term track record for mega mergers," he said.
"It is probably a lucky escape for Rio, but it also signals management's new desire to swing the bat at large acquisitions."
Bitcoin has hit a 16-month low, trading at around $60,000 as of 1pm AEDT.
"It's now down more than 20% for the week—its biggest weekly drop since the nightmare of November 2022 after FTX blew up," said Tony Sycamore, IG market analyst.
"It's sitting about 52% below that October 2025 peak of $126,272.
"There is some support at $58,000 coming from the 200-week moving average. Lets see if it can hold."
The crypto has since rebounded to $US64,710, up 2.4%, as of 2:30pm AEDT.
Technology stocks are dragging down the ASX 200 today.
The tech sub-index (AXIJ) has fallen as much as 5.3% today, its lowest level since 2023.
It's down 13% over the past five days of trading.
Tech stocks globally have been hit by concerns that artificial intelligence will be a competitor to tech companies, particularly in the data and software space.
Logistics software provider WiseTech Global is down -5.6%.
Megaport Limited is down -7%, while Siteminder is down just over -9% (as at 1:55pm AEDT).
Commonwealth Bank has announced interest rate changes to its select savings products, making it the second of the big four banks to pass on the Reserve Bank's cash rates.
The bank says it will lift GoalSaver by 0.25% to 4.50% pa, and NetBank Saver variable introductory rate — for new customers — will also increase by 0.25% to 4.70% pa.
The new rates are effective on February 13, 2026.
Local share markets are down significantly today.
The ASX200 is -1.74% to 8,734 points, while the broader All Ordinaries Index is -1.91% to 8,979 points (as at 1.20pm AEDT).
All sectors are in the red today, led by technology and industrials.
Online travel company Web Travel Gorup is leading the bottom movers today after it revealed Spain's tax agent is auditing it's Spanish subsidiary. Shares are down almost -30%.
Resmed and Brambles are leading the top movers.