Markets live updates: Trump appoints advisor Stephen Miran to Fed board, ASX to follow Wall St falls
On Wall Street, the Dow fell while the Nasdaq rose. Futures indicate the ASX will dip.
Follow the day's financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters on our live blog.
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The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
ASX200: Key sectors split on down day for market
A mixed bag has capped the share market's first weekly gain in three weeks, in the midst of reporting season with an expected interest rate cut just days away. The S&P/ASX200 closed Friday with a loss of 24.3 points or 0.28 per cent at 8807.1. Sell offs in financials and healthcare outweighed gains in mining stocks, with six of 11 sectors in negative territory. The All Ordinaries also slipped 0.28 per cent, down 25 points to 9,076.6 while the Small Ords was flat. Daily returns were dominated by earnings results. QBE shares tanked 8.8 per cent (to $21.39) despite the company reporting a 20 per cent jump in half-year profit. Afterpay owner Block rose 9.1 per cent (at $127.09) as second quarter results showed consumers were blowing cobwebs off their wallets. Gains in mining did not offset losses in financials. Picture: Gaye Gerard / NewsWire Furniture retailer Nick Scali lifted 6.9 per cent (to $20.49) as its Australian and New Zealand orders over the second-half rose 7 per cent. Investors made themselves comfy despite a near 30 per cent slide in profits. 'We're getting better deals … and we are passing that through to the consumer for better prices and that is probably helping us,' chief executive Anthony Scali told investors. 'I think the consumer is a bit more confident.' Other big gainers include finance tech company Iress (up 12.2 per cent at $9.40), Pilbara Minerals (up 9 per cent at $1.93) and AMP (up 7.1 per cent at $1.87). At the other end, GQG Partners was deep in red territory. GQG's share price fell 14.6 per cent (to $1.72), as a funds under management update revealed an exodus. RBA Governor Michele Bullock is expected to announce a rate cut on Tuesday. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short Investors ditched game company Light and Wonder, as the Las Vegas-headquartered firm announced plans to delist from the Nasdaq later this year. Aussie-listed stocks fell 11.2 per cent to $118.75. The RBA is expected to cut the cash rate on Tuesday, and will take heed from London in doing so. The Bank of England cut its main interest rate Thursday by a quarter point to 4 per cent, to spite a lagging economy. In international news, the UK, Switzerland and the US have found themselves in a tussle after a report Donald Trump had imposed tariffs on imports of 1kg gold bars. Independent market analyst Stephen Innes said the US administration was taking a three-pronged approach. 'Weaken Switzerland's refining monopoly. Force London's bullion banks into a defensive posture. Supercharge the fiscal optics by goosing gold's domestic valuation,' he said. 'The optics are unmistakeable. At a time when central banks are hoarding gold to diversify away from dollar risk, Washington is slapping toll booths on the global metal highway. 'Switzerland, the middleman in this high-value supply chain, just became collateral damage.' The news sent gold futures climbing to a record high on Friday, even after a stellar week for the precious metal. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold benchmark is up 11.5 per cent for the week, including a 2 per cent sweetener on Friday. Read related topics: ASX Blair Jackson Reporter Blair's journalism career has taken him from Perth, to New Zealand, Queensland and now Melbourne. Blair Jackson
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
Zip launches BNPL invoice service with Xero and Stripe to combat late payments
Fintech Zip has partnered with Stripe and Xero, aiming to solve a $1.1bn problem for small businesses: late payments. The partnership allows businesses using Xero and Stripe to offer their customers the opportunity to split invoice payments via Zip - which is listed on the ASX with a market value of $4.32bn - while receiving the full amount upfront, 'minus any fees'. Soraya Alali, Zip's chief executive for Australia and New Zealand, said the collaboration will combat this by ensuring owners get 'paid more efficiently' and can 'take greater control of their cash flow management'. According to Xero's Small Business Report, half of all payments made to small businesses are paid late, costing small businesses $1.1bn a year in Australia. 'This integration means small businesses in Australia on the Xero platform, with a Stripe account, can now add Zip's flexible payment solutions directly on their invoices, providing customers with greater payment flexibility and helping businesses to reduce payment friction and support cash flow management,' Ms Alali said. 'We're excited to bring this capability to Xero customers through Stripe's payment infrastructure.' Zip specialises in digital financial services and is primarily known for its buy now, pay later offering. Xero chief executive Sukhinder Singh Cassidy told this masthead that her job was 'to worry about what small businesses enduringly need'. The collaboration with Zip and Stripe follows Xero acquiring New York-based accounting platform Melio Payments for $US2.5bn. Ms Singh Cassidy said the Melio deal aimed to solve a 'critical customer need', combining accountants and payments on one platform. 'We know that actually managing your accounting and your financial operations and now your payments and cash flow is even more critical, you know, in times of uncertainty,' Ms Singh Cassidy said when the deal was announced in June. 'Managing payments out and getting paid faster is the most critical thing to surviving. Late payments continue to be a big issue, because if you get paid late, it's very hard to manage your cash flow. 'And by the way, in that case, you really do want to manage your spend out in quite a scheduled manner, because you're not going to pay out before you get paid. This is why we want to own both sides of that transaction flow also.' Xero senior vice-president of payments Bharathi Ramavarjula said consumers also expected more choice for how they pay invoices. 'So the more payment methods we can offer with Stripe, such as Zip, the more likely it is that our customers will get paid up to twice as fast, helping to strengthen their financial position, and reclaim hours spent chasing late payments,' Ms Ramavarjula said. Stripe managing director for Australia and New Zealand Karl Durrance said small businesses often struggle with cash flow and complexity of managing unpaid invoices, chasing late payments and reconciling accounts manually. 'Working with Zip and Xero demonstrates how technology solves important business problems — small businesses get paid faster while offering their customers more flexible payment options, opening up new possibilities for growth.' Jared Lynch Technology Editor Jared Lynch is The Australian's Technology Editor, with a career spanning two decades. Jared is based in Melbourne and has extensive experience in markets, start-ups, media and corporate affairs. His work has gained recognition as a finalist in the Walkley and Quill awards. Previously, he worked at The Australian Financial Review, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Technology Mike Cannon-Brookes has given an upbeat outlook for Atlassian, expecting 'significant tailwinds' from AI after the company upped its full-year revenue by almost $US1bn. Technology OpenAI's founder Sam Altman is pushing for AI to 'thrive' but writers, artists and musicians warn of devastating consequences if copyright laws are relaxed to fuel the AI race.
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
Trump to be the most ‘consequential president of our lifetime' amid Putin meeting
Sky News contributor Beau Davidson says US President Donald Trump will be the most 'consequential President of our lifetime'. This comes as Mr Trump intends to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'I think it will mean that he will be the most consequential President of our lifetime,' Mr Davidson told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio. 'This has been kind of ramping up for a while.'
