Sydney, March 19, 2026, 04:46 AEDT
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.31% at 8,640.60 on Wednesday. The index added 26.30 points. 1
The move mattered because it came one day after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised the cash rate by 25 basis points, or a quarter of a percentage point, to 4.1% in a 5-4 vote, and only hours before the U.S. Federal Reserve decision due later on Thursday in Sydney. Westpac chief economist Luci Ellis said a follow-up move in May looked “less certain” and that how the Middle East conflict evolved would be crucial. 2
In intraday notes, Market Index said the session’s bid centered on rate-sensitive groups such as tech, utilities and real estate, as Australia’s 10-year yield slipped about 5 basis points and Brent crude eased toward $101.70 a barrel in local trade. 3
By the close, real estate was up 1.1% and utilities 0.9%, while the energy sector rose 0.7%. Technology stocks also advanced, with NEXTDC up 3.7% and Xero 2.3%, while healthcare was the only sector in negative territory. 4
BHP was up 0.9% in Wednesday afternoon trade after naming Brandon Craig as its next chief executive, while rival Rio Tinto is still less than a year into its own leadership change. Argo Investments’ Andy Forster called Craig “super impressive”, and Craig said any mergers or acquisitions would have to be “incredibly compelling” against BHP’s existing growth pipeline. 5
Woodside also gave the market fresh company news, appointing Liz Westcott as permanent CEO as it works through a softer 2026 production outlook and major project decisions. RBC Capital Markets analyst Gordon Ramsay described her as a “low-risk appointment”, and Westcott said 2026 would be a “big year of delivery”. 6
But the rebound looked brittle. Oil settled up 3.2% on Tuesday at $103.42 a barrel after renewed Iranian attacks on the United Arab Emirates, and IG analyst Tony Sycamore warned in a note that “the risks remain stark” if the conflict further disrupts traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade. 7
That threat flared again later in global trade. Brent jumped as high as $108.51 after Iran’s Pars gas field was hit, while U.S. producer prices rose 0.7% in February; Plante Moran’s Jim Baird said the risk of a “second surge in inflation” had become more real, leaving investors to wait on the Fed for the next signal on rates and risk appetite. 8
