ASX trims losses on inflation data; oOhMedia! surges on takeover bid

The Australian sharemarket has trimmed early losses after the release of the latest inflation figures, which were not as high as feared.

The S&P/ASX 200 was down 9.3 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 8701.4 at 11.42am AEST with six of 11 industry sectors in the green as investors digested the release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

According to the ABS, inflation jumped by 1.1 per cent in March to hit 4.6 per cent. Market economists had tipped an annual rate of 4.8 per cent.

It was largely due to a 32.8 per cent spike in petrol prices, the single largest monthly increase since the bureau started tracking monthly inflation in 2017.

Importantly, underlying measures of inflation – closely tracked by the Reserve Bank which meets next week – showed a “moderate” increase of 0.3 per cent. Trimmed underlying inflation was at 3.3 per cent, where it had been last month.

Oil prices climbed overnight but dipped in early trade on Wednesday as uncertainty over the war in Iran lingers, while the UAE announced it will exit the OPEC oil cartel in May. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil to be delivered in June slid 0.5 per cent to $US110.71 at 10.18am AEST while US oil slid 0.8 per cent to $US99.13.

Local energy stocks rose in early trade with Woodside Energy up 1.3 per cent as it told investors it was set to cash in from surging oil and gas prices due to the conflict in the Middle East choking off vast volumes of the world’s supplies and igniting a scramble for spare cargoes.

The company’s average prices rose 11 per cent in the first quarter, but were on track to jump further after Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz – a vital oil and gas shipping route – and missile strikes on a Qatari gas hub knocked out up to one fifth of global liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies last month.

“Further benefits of currently higher spot prices will be realised subsequent quarters for LNG due to lagged contract pricing,” Woodside chief Liz Westcott said. Santos added 0.9 per cent, Ampol edged up 0.2 per cent while Viva Energy was 0.8 per cent lower.

Childcare operator G8 Education tumbled 24.2 per cent as it announced it was closing 40 childcare centres across the country as it grapples with falling occupancy numbers.

One in ten of its centres will shut down with the company saying in a statement the childcare sector, which has been embroiled in scandal, is facing a number of challenges.

“Occupancy across the sector is lower compared to 2024 and 2025 due to families experiencing sustained affordability pressures, falling birth rates, increased long-day care supply and confidence being impacted by serious child safety incidents.”

Financial stocks are mixed, with Commonwealth Bank adding 0.7 per cent and ANZ Bank 0.2 per cent but National Australia Bank slid 0.7 per cent and Westpac dipped 0.1 per cent in early trade.

Mining stocks are weaker, with BHP falling 2 per cent, Rio Tinto 1.5 per cent and Fortescue 1.2 per cent. The price of iron ore slid lower overnight and lost further ground this morning to be trading at $US105.75 per tonne in Singapore. Gold stocks are lower after the price of the safe haven fell overnight with Northern Star down 0.9 per cent and Evolution Mining 1.3 per cent lower.

Outdoor advertising company oOh!media jumped 43.5 per cent as it received an unsolicited, non-binding, indicative proposal from Pacific Equity Partners to acquire the company in a deal valuing it at about $754 million.

The Australian dollar was trading at US71.87¢ at 10.27am AEST.

Overnight, the S&P 500 fell 0.5 per cent from its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones dropped 25 points, or 0.1 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.9 per cent from its own record.

Stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry led the way lower on Wall Street. Chip company Broadcom was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 after sinking 4.4 per cent. Drops of 1.6 per cent for Nvidia and 3.9 per cent for Micron Technology also undercut the market.

The weakness came after a report in The Wall Street Journal said some leaders at OpenAI are concerned about whether it can support its massive spending on data centres after missing targets for new users and revenue. If the maker of ChatGPT pulls back on its investments, it could bolster criticism that the entire AI industry is in a bubble of over-the-top spending that may not produce the profits and productivity that would make it all worth it. Elsewhere, Elon Musk’s blockbuster civil trial began in California.

The drops came just a day before several of the biggest spenders on AI are scheduled to report their latest results for the start of 2026. They could offer more clues on whether all the investment in AI is producing the kind of returns that shareholders care about.

Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft are all reporting their latest quarterly results on Wednesday.

Another stock helping to limit Wall Street’s losses was Coca-Cola’s. It rallied 3.9 per cent after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, thanks in part to strength from China, the United States and India.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve is set to announce its latest decision on short-term interest rates. The widespread expectation is that it will hold the federal funds rate steady and hold off on resuming its cuts. Lower interest rates would help the economy, but they also risk worsening inflation when oil is expensive and tariffs are threatening to push prices higher.

Also Wednesday, the Senate Banking Committee will vote on whether to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee, Kevin Warsh, to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The committee is expected to approve Warsh and send his nomination to the full Senate.

With AP

The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.