Wednesday 8th April 2026
Daily Market Update: 07 April 2026
The Australian market was closed for Easter
The Australian market was closed for the Easter break, leaving no domestic trading session to reflect developments on Thursday and Monday. In the absence of local price action, investor attention is likely to remain on offshore leads, particularly the sharp move higher in oil prices and the cautious tone across global risk markets as tensions in the Middle East continued to shape sentiment.
European markets were led higher by energy and defensive stocks as oil prices surged
European markets were firmer, led by strength in the FTSE 100 Index (INDEXFTSE: UKX) which rose more than 0.5 per cent on Thursday, outperforming regional peers as oil surged to US$110 a barrel. Energy majors Shell plc (LSE: SHEL) and BP p.l.c. (LSE: BP.) gained nearly 3 per cent each, while defensives including AstraZeneca PLC (LSE: AZN) and GSK plc (LSE: GSK) rose 1.9 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively. British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LSE: BATS) advanced more than 2 per cent and B&M European Value Retail S.A. (LSE: BME) jumped over 5 per cent following a rating upgrade, while financials such as HSBC Holdings plc (LSE: HSBA) and NatWest Group plc (LSE: NWG) declined more than 1 per cent amid persistent risk sensitivity.
US equities advanced on ceasefire hopes, with technology gains offsetting weakness in select names
In global markets, the FTSE 100 Index (INDEXFTSE: UKX) rose more than 0.5 per cent on Thursday, outperforming European peers as oil surged to US$110 a barrel. Shell plc (LSE: SHEL) and BP p.l.c. (LSE: BP.) gained nearly 3 per cent each, while AstraZeneca PLC (LSE: AZN) and GSK plc (LSE: GSK) advanced 1.9 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively; British American Tobacco p.l.c. (LSE: BATS) also rose more than 2 per cent and B&M European Value Retail S.A. (LSE: BME) jumped more than 5 per cent after a rating upgrade, while HSBC Holdings plc (LSE: HSBA) and NatWest Group plc (LSE: NWG) fell more than 1 per cent. In the United States, the Nasdaq-100 Index (NASDAQ: NDX) gained 0.8 per cent, the S&P 500 Index (SP: SPX) rose 0.6 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) added 0.5 per cent as hopes for a Middle Eastern ceasefire supported sentiment; strength in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MU) helped offset declines in Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY), although markets remained cautious about the longer-term economic impact of energy disruption.
| Australian Indices | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| ASX 200 | 0.0 | 1.4 | -2.9 | -0.1 | 20.6 |
| Financials | 0.0 | 1.9 | -1.8 | 4.1 | 25.6 |
| Resources | 0.0 | 1.6 | -1.3 | 8.4 | 65.8 |
| Information Technology | 0.0 | 2.5 | -12.3 | -23.3 | -15.3 |
| Global Indices | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| US 500 | 0.4 | 2.3 | -1.5 | -8.0 | 13.7 |
| Europe | 0.0 | 3.0 | 1.5 | -4.5 | 17.4 |
| Japan | 0.0 | 3.1 | -0.2 | -0.6 | 27.0 |
| China top 50 | 0.0 | 0.2 | -1.2 | -13.7 | 4.5 |
| India top 50 | 0.0 | 0.4 | -8.0 | -17.8 | -19.3 |
| Fixed Interest | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| Australian Treasury Bond | 0.0 | 0.1 | -0.8 | -0.6 | -1.3 |
| Australian Corporate Bond | 0.0 | 0.2 | -0.8 | -0.6 | -0.4 |
| US Treasury | 0.0 | 0.1 | -1.1 | -0.4 | 0.9 |
| Cash | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 3.8 |
| Commodities & Crypto | Daily % | Weekly % | 1 Month % | 3 Month % | 1 Year % |
| Gold | 0.0 | 3.3 | -6.8 | 2.2 | 35.5 |
| Silver | 0.0 | 4.5 | -8.3 | -7.7 | 112.7 |
| Crude Oil | 0.0 | 8.5 | 26.3 | 103.0 | 111.7 |
| Bitcoin | 0.0 | -2.1 | -1.6 | -30.9 | -27.1 |
