SYDNEY, March 3, 2026, 18:28 AEDT — Market closed.
- Wesfarmers closed down 0.55% at A$79.62 as Australian stocks sold off.
- Oil stayed elevated on Middle East supply risks, keeping inflation and rates in focus.
- Next catalysts include ABS national accounts on March 5 and the RBA decision on March 17.
Wesfarmers Ltd shares fell 0.55% to A$79.62 on Tuesday, with the Australian market sliding hard into the close. The owner of Bunnings and Kmart is due to pay an interim dividend of 102 cents a share on March 31. 1
Why it matters now: Wesfarmers is a big, broad read on household demand, and that story is getting noisier again. Higher fuel costs and a more hawkish rates backdrop can bite at the same time — budgets first, then sentiment.
The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 123 points, or 1.34%, to 9,077.30, with investors leaning risk-off as oil surged and bond yields pushed higher. ABC News said markets were reassessing how much tightening the Reserve Bank of Australia may still have to do. 2
RBA Governor Michele Bullock struck a cautious note in a Sydney speech, saying recent data justified the February rate rise and that Middle East tensions added to an already uncertain inflation outlook. “Events in the Middle East are a timely reminder … things can change quickly,” she said, with the cash rate — the benchmark overnight rate — at 3.85%. 3
Oil prices rose for a third straight session on Tuesday, with Brent at $79.44 a barrel, as the widening U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran and threats to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz stoked supply fears. “With no quick de-escalation in sight … upside risks remain,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore wrote in a note. 4
Wesfarmers sits awkwardly in that mix. Its retail chains can look defensive on a bad tape, but the stock is still exposed to any shift in what shoppers do when mortgage and petrol costs climb.
The company last month reported a better-than-expected interim profit, but its shares fell on concerns about weaker second-half sales growth and uneven consumer spending, Reuters reported at the time. 5
Before the next session, traders will also be watching domestic data for a cleaner read on growth. The Australian Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to release December-quarter national accounts — a GDP-style report — as well as its monthly household spending indicator on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. AEDT. 6
Rate expectations stay front and centre into mid-March. The RBA’s next policy meeting runs March 16–17, with the decision statement due at 2:30 p.m. AEDT on March 17, according to the central bank’s schedule. 7
But plenty can still go wrong for retail names. If crude stays high and turns into a longer supply shock, it could keep inflation sticky and force tighter policy than the market currently prices — the kind of setup that can hit discretionary spending fast.
For Wesfarmers, the immediate leads are oil and bond yields overnight, then Thursday’s national accounts and the March 17 RBA call. The March 31 dividend is also on the calendar, but the next big swing factor is still rates.
