The Australian share market has finished strongly after the first bid day of reporting season. This is excellent earnings news for the Commonwealth Bank. It’s the first half of the financial year.
CSL reported a sharp drop in profits. The biotech giant fired its chief executive, Paul McKenzie, the day before, blaming him for the company’s weaker performance.
On Wednesday, 11 February, the ASX concluded the day high, up 1.7% at 9,014 points.
Overall, the market had 150 stocks gaining, 2 were unexchanged, and 48 stocks were in the red.
When analyzing the sectors, financials are at the top, up 3.3%. This was followed by utilities, up 2.8%, with materials thereafter, up 1.9%.
Healthcare finished at the bottom, with a decrease of 4.6%. This was followed by Real Estate, down 0.3%.
Amongst firms, the top mover was Aussie Broadband, up 14.8%. This was followed by AGL Energy, up 11.8%. Then came James Hardie Industries, up 10.9%.
It wasn’t such a good day for CSL, down 11%. This was followed by ResMed Inc. and Superloop Ltd., which were down 4.7% and 3.3%, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar is up 0.5% at 71.12 US cents.
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) said a record number of Australians are refinancing their home loans. This is citing the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The new figure indicates that 640,137 mortgages underwent refinancing in 2025. It was a 20% jump from the previous year of 2024. ABA says that more borrowers than ever before renegotiated or switched their mortgages.
ABA CEO Simon Birmingham believed that it was clear that the Aussies have their eye on the ball when it comes to shopping around for better deals.
Birmingham added that Australian banks offer highly competitive and innovative mortgage products. They compete on the latest technology platforms, which in turn benefits customers with enhanced choice.
Record numbers of mortgage holders refinancing is a demonstration of the wide variety of home loan options available to customers to choose from.
More homeowners than ever before are renegotiating their mortgages. Or they may be switching lenders. This statistic reflects how fiercely competitive Australia’s home loan market may be.
This data clearly demonstrates the strong competition within the home loan market. This is evident in the data, as 64% of mortgage holders have refinanced. They refinanced, doing so by switching to another lender.
ANZ adjusted its GDP forecast for 2026, down to 2% from a previous 2.2%.
The RBA’s rate increase last week may have impacted sentiment, contributing to the ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence. It declined 3.6 points to its lowest level since three years ago, in December 2023, it said.
On the data front, household spending declined by 0.4% month-on-month in December ’25. It marks its first monthly drop since nearly two years ago, in March 2024.
Westpac’s consumer survey and NAB business conditions have also indicated a meltdown.
Meanwhile, the bank says the AUD/USD fluctuated widely between 0.69 and 0.71 that week. Both domestic factors and global events influenced it.
Australia forecasts a light economic calendar in the days to come. The RBA’s February meeting minutes and Wage Price Index data, both due next week, contributed to this outlook.
It was envisaged that external factors were more likely to influence the AUD than domestic developments.
The ABC sought a response from Telstra after learning that it intends to axe up to 442 roles. This is in addition to the 209 redundancies announced on Tuesday, 10 February ’26.
A Telstra spokesperson shared
We confirm that we shared several proposed changes with our employees. We will be subject to consultation over the coming weeks. If these changes proceed, they will eliminate approximately 442 roles.
