Australian Sharemarket Opens Higher Amid Mixed Corporate Results

The Australian sharemarket edged higher at the open, with the S&P/ASX 200 rising 8.2 points, or 0.1%, to 9,183.5. Eight of the eleven industry sectors were in the red, led by consumer stocks.

Supermarket giant Coles saw its shares fall 6.4% after reporting half-year results that showed a 6% growth in supermarket sales but a decline in liquor sales. Retailer Harvey Norman's shares dropped 7.1% following a report of a 6.9% increase in sales revenue to $5.16 billion and a 15.2% rise in after-tax profits for the first half of the 2026 financial year. The company announced fully franked interim dividends of 14.5 cents per share, up from 12 cents previously.

In the technology sector, Jack Dorsey's payments company Block announced plans to reduce its workforce by more than 4,000 jobs, nearly half its staff, as part of a strategic shift towards becoming an "intelligence-native" business. This announcement led to a nearly 30% surge in Block's shares in early trade. Block, which acquired Melbourne-founded buy now, pay later platform Afterpay for about $39 billion in 2022, has a significant presence in Australia, though the exact number of local employees affected remains unclear.

Virgin Australia reported a 11.7% increase in pre-tax earnings to $490 million for the six months ending December 2025, supported by strong revenue growth and demand in the leisure sector. The airline's shares advanced 1.1% in early trade.

Financial stocks showed mixed performance: National Australia Bank rose 0.5%, Westpac climbed 0.4%, and ANZ Group increased 0.2%, while Commonwealth Bank declined 0.3%. Mining stocks also varied, with Fortescue up 0.7%, but Rio Tinto and BHP fell 1.1% and 0.7%, respectively. Gold miners saw gains, with Northern Star up 2.2% and Evolution Mining up 2.4%.

Energy stocks were mixed as oil prices fluctuated amid indirect talks between the United States and Iran regarding Iran's nuclear program. Woodside and Santos each lost 0.6%, while Yancoal added 1.4% and Ampol gained 1.3%.

The Australian dollar was lower at US71.04¢ at 11:08 am AEDT.

On Wall Street, Nvidia's stock experienced its worst day since April, falling 5.5% despite reporting strong profits and an optimistic revenue forecast. As the largest U.S. stock by market value, Nvidia's decline heavily influenced the S&P 500, which slipped 0.5%. The Dow Jones added 17 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.2%.

Despite Nvidia's downturn, seven stocks rose in the S&P 500 for every three that fell. Among them was Salesforce, which climbed 4% after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

In other news, World Economic Forum CEO Børge Brende announced his resignation after it emerged he had ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Documents revealed Brende arranged to meet Epstein at his New York home for dinner in 2018 and 2019, with the second meeting planned just weeks before Epstein's arrest on sex trafficking charges. Epstein died in jail in August 2019.