ASX futures point to a 0.3% decline despite a softer US CPI that lifted Wall Street. The IEA warns of a 1.8 million barrel a day oil shortfall. ANZ, Telstra, and Monadelphous report quarterly results.
Australian share futures pointed to a lower open, with S&P/ASX 200 futures down 24 points or 0.3% to 9128, even after Wall Street bounced on a tame US inflation print.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose overnight after the July US consumer price index came in softer than expected, with consumer prices rising 0.1% for the month. Analysts said the reading could ease pressure on the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates further.
Tech stocks led the rally. Cloud-computing company CoreWeave jumped 19.28% after reporting revenue doubled in its quarterly report.
The US data offered a reprieve from two days of losses, but the local futures slide suggests Australian traders are not convinced the coast is clear.
The International Energy Agency flagged a separate risk for global markets. The IEA reported the global oil market faces a 1.8 million barrel a day shortfall, with Middle East production remaining well below pre-war levels. The agency estimated global oil supply will fall by 4.3 million barrels per day, or about 4%, this year.
Yet the IEA's May 2026 data showed total OECD production of crude oil, NGL and refinery feedstocks rose 2.8% from a year earlier. Refinery gross output of total products increased 0.8% year-on-year. Net deliveries of total products fell 3.7% year-on-year. Oil stock levels on national territory dropped by 9,188 kilotonnes in May compared to the closing stock.
Natural gas production increased 1.4% from a year earlier. Imports of natural gas were 7.9% lower year-on-year, and total OECD exports fell 0.8% in the same period. Gross consumption of natural gas rose 1.2% year-on-year.
In commodities, iron ore rose 1.26% to $95.09 per tonne. Brent crude fell 0.73% to $82.59 a barrel. US natural gas futures were up 0.86% to $2.79 per million British thermal units.
The Australian dollar bought US$0.706.
On the corporate front, ANZ reported an unaudited statutory profit for the June quarter of $1.95 billion and a cash profit of $1.90 billion. CEO Nuno Matos said the bank remains on track to meet its return on tangible equity and cost-to-income targets.
"In the quarter, we continued to improve productivity, margins and business volumes, including accelerating growth in business banking and returning home lending to system growth," Matos said.
"We continue to watch the external environment closely across our network. Our balance sheet and capital position remain strong, and we are staying close to our customers should they need support."
Telstra forecast continued underlying EBITDA growth in FY27, guiding a range of $8.5 billion to $8.8 billion. The company reported a strong FY26, with EBITDA up 3% to $8.2 billion, net profit after tax up 2.7% to $2.4 billion, and earnings per share up 5.3% to 19.9 cents.
Engineering firm Monadelphous Group added more than $110 million in new contracts. In Papua New Guinea, the company won a contract from Santos for the APT tie-in project in the Southern Highlands oil and gas fields. Its civil business Melchor landed a contract with Pilbara Ports for the Utah project. Monadelphous also secured a 12-month contract for services at Glencore's Murrin Murrin operations in Western Australia.
Prepared with AlphaScala editorial tooling from the source reporting linked above. Indexable analysis may include a cited Alpha Score value. Publishing checks screen each story before release. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.