ASX today, ASX futures down 0.5%, Brent up 3.1%

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Samso Market Update | Monday, 26 October 2026 | Pre-market 9:45am AEDT

On the ASX today, ASX 200 futures were down 0.5% at 8,774 points at about 7:00am AEDT, according to the ABC News market snapshot. ASX 200 futures are contracts to buy or sell the index at a set price on a later date. Their price is used as a guide to where the index will open. This morning that points to a lower open. The ABC said oil would again be a focus today. The Australian dollar was buying 70.36 US cents at 7:44am AEDT (Yahoo Finance data).

The S&P/ASX 200 closed on Friday at 8,795.2, up 2.0 points or 0.02%. The All Ordinaries, which tracks the 500 largest listed companies, fell 0.13% to 8,905.8. The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries, an index of the companies ranked 101 to 300 by size, fell 2.29% to 3,066.5. Friday's editions are at ASX today, Friday 23 October 2026, and Thursday's are at ASX today, Thursday 22 October 2026.

ASX today: Key Highlights

ASX 200 futures were down 0.5% at 8,774 at about 7:00am AEDT (ABC News).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.23% on Friday, the S&P 500 0.52% and the Nasdaq Composite 0.21% (Yahoo Finance data).
December Brent crude futures settled at US$116.72 a barrel on Friday, a six-month high, Yahoo Finance reported. The ABC put the rise at 3.1%.
December gold futures fell 1.29% to US$4,007.90 an ounce (Yahoo Finance data). The ABC reported that gold fell below US$4,000 for the first time since July, with spot gold at US$3,996 in its morning snapshot.
Australia's September quarter consumer price index, the main measure of inflation, is due at 11:30am AEDT on Wednesday (ABS release calendar).
BlueScope Steel (ASX: BSL) said at 8:29am AEDT that it now expects first-half FY2027 underlying earnings before interest and tax approaching A$1.1 billion, above its previous guidance of A$860 million to A$960 million.

Wall Street overnight

The three main US indices fell on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.23% to 52,215.16. The S&P 500 fell 0.52% to 7,623.68. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.21% to 25,955.34. The Russell 2000, an index of smaller US companies, fell 0.29% to 2,775.90 (Yahoo Finance data).

Yahoo Finance said, "The major averages fell on Friday as higher oil prices weighed on sentiment ahead of next week's Fed policy meeting." The ABC said oil and inflation were bigger concerns on Friday than the worries about AI spending that drove Thursday's fall. On Thursday the Nasdaq fell 2.60% (Yahoo Finance data), its biggest one-day drop since June, Reuters reported. Over the week, the S&P 500 fell 0.5% and the Nasdaq 0.7%. The Dow rose 0.4%, the ABC reported. The ABC also said S&P 500 third quarter earnings were on track to rise more than 32%, citing LSEG I/B/E/S data.

The ABC said the S&P 500 energy sector rose 2.5% to another record high. Reuters said telecommunications shares fell after a report that SpaceX was seeking thousands of mobile phone tower sites for a fourth wireless carrier. AT&T and T-Mobile both fell nearly 8% and Verizon 1.2%, the ABC reported. Reuters said the University of Michigan survey showed US consumer sentiment "edged down near a record low in October, as rising prices because of the Middle East conflict soured households' views of the economy".

The US 10-year Treasury yield rose 3.5 basis points to 4.99% at 2:59pm New York time on Friday (Yahoo Finance data). A Treasury is a US government bond, and its yield is the yearly return from buying it at today's price and holding it until it is repaid. When yields rise, bond prices fall. A basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point. The Federal Reserve meets on 27 and 28 October (Federal Reserve calendar). Reuters said the Fed is expected to keep interest rates steady, and that investors are watching whether it will raise rates at its December meeting.

Japan and Asia

The Nikkei 225 closed on Friday at 62,693.16, down 0.34% (Yahoo Finance data). Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.69% on Friday to 23,093.37, and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.89% to 3,690.48. The US dollar was buying 156.83 yen at 7:05am AEDT. The Bank of Japan announces its next policy decision on Friday. The ABC said it is expected to hold rates and is tipped to raise them before the end of the year.

London and Europe

London's FTSE 100 closed on Friday at 10,690.4, down 0.32% (Yahoo Finance data). Germany's DAX fell 0.75% to 25,181.65. France's CAC 40 fell 0.36% to 7,782.82. The UK government delivers its budget on Wednesday, and the European Central Bank announces its rate decision later in the week, the ABC reported.

Currencies

The Australian dollar was up from 70.12 US cents at 4:31pm AEDT on Friday, the level in Samso's market close edition. The US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against six major currencies, rose on Friday from 101.61 at the end of Thursday's session (Yahoo Finance data). At 7:45am AEDT the British pound was at US$1.338, and at 6:20am AEDT the euro was at US$1.122.

Commodities

December Brent crude futures, the international oil benchmark, settled at US$116.72 a barrel on Friday (Yahoo Finance live blog), up 3.1% (ABC News). December is the front-month contract, the one closest to expiry. Reuters said Brent reached its highest level since late April "after Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked concern over further disruption to energy supplies from the Middle East." On Saturday Yemen's Houthis claimed further attacks on Saudi oil sites, including Aramco facilities at Yanbu and the Rabigh refinery, Investing.com reported, citing Reuters. It said Saudi authorities did not immediately verify the full scope of the claims.

December West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the US oil benchmark, rose 3.82% on Friday to US$103.27 a barrel (Yahoo Finance data).

December gold futures fell 1.29% on Friday to US$4,007.90 an ounce (Yahoo Finance data). The ABC's market snapshot, with prices current at about 7:00am AEDT, showed spot gold, the price for immediate delivery, down 0.7% at US$3,996 an ounce. The ABC said gold fell 4% over the week to a three-month low, on higher energy prices, inflation concerns and expectations of US rate rises. December silver futures fell 1.49% to US$53.95 an ounce (Yahoo Finance data).

Iron ore rose 0.5% on Friday to US$90.40 a tonne, according to the ABC News market snapshot.

Today's diary

All times AEDT.

No Australian Bureau of Statistics releases are scheduled today (ABS release calendar).
8:24am. Elevra Lithium (ASX: ELV) said it completed the sale of all its rights and interests in the Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana to Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt. It said it received cash consideration of US$71 million before fees and taxes, and no longer has any funding commitment to develop the project.
8:25am. PLS Group (ASX: PLS) said it closed its offering of US$700 million of 8.00% senior notes due 2032. It said the net proceeds are intended for "general corporate purposes, including but not limited to, capital expenditure and/or other growth opportunities".
8:25am. Greatland Resources (ASX: GGP) reported September quarter production of 70,131 ounces of gold and 2,927 tonnes of copper at an all-in sustaining cost of A$2,925 an ounce of gold, net of copper and silver credits. All-in sustaining cost is an industry measure of the cost of producing gold and keeping existing mines running. It leaves out growth spending, exploration for new projects, tax and interest. Greatland said it is on track for FY27 guidance of 260,000 to 300,000 ounces of gold, and it reported a closing cash balance of A$1,314 million with no drawn debt at 30 September. Its webcast is at 10:30am AEDT, 7:30am in Perth.
8:27am. Capricorn Metals (ASX: CMM) reported further drilling results from the Lexington underground prospect at its Mt Gibson Gold Project, including 6.0 metres at 57.38 grams of gold a tonne from 616 metres down the hole. It said the results support a maiden underground Mineral Resource estimate, its first formal estimate of the gold in the ground there, expected later this quarter.
8:28am. NEXTDC (ASX: NXT) announced board changes ahead of its annual meeting on 20 November. It said chairman Douglas Flynn will retire once a new chairman is in place, non-executive directors will take a voluntary 10% fee cut, and chief executive Craig Scroggie has agreed to forgo his FY27 short-term and long-term incentive opportunities. The board said it shares investors' disappointment over the M3 Melbourne power delay and revised FY27 guidance announced on 21 October.
8:29am. BlueScope Steel (ASX: BSL) said it now expects first-half FY2027 underlying earnings before interest and tax approaching A$1.1 billion, above its previous guidance of A$860 million to A$960 million. Chief executive Tania Archibald said the increase is "primarily driven by stronger than anticipated earnings from North Star on stronger US steel spreads, along with improved performance at Buildings and Coated Products North America and Australian Steel Products".
8:33am. Cochlear (ASX: COH) said in its annual meeting addresses that it continues to expect FY27 underlying net profit of A$330 million to A$350 million, in line with its August guidance.
8:30pm. Germany's Ifo business climate survey for October, a monthly survey of German business confidence (Finance Calendar).
This week. Australia's September quarter consumer price index at 11:30am on Wednesday (ABS). The ABC said the market consensus is for headline prices to rise 1.3% in the quarter, with the annual rate steady at 3.9%. The US Federal Reserve decision is on Thursday morning, and the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank decisions follow, the ABC reported.

Samso Concluding Comments

Yahoo Finance linked Friday's fall on Wall Street to higher oil prices ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting. Reuters tied the rise in Brent to Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia, and the ABC said oil would again be a focus today. Samso will watch how energy shares, gold miners and companies sensitive to interest rates trade, how oil prices open after Saturday's Houthi claims of further attacks on Saudi oil sites, and this morning's company releases, including BlueScope's upgraded earnings guidance and Greatland's quarterly report. Wednesday's inflation figures are the main local event this week.

General information only. This is not financial advice.