Australian shares retreat into into the red, despite a rally on Wall Street sending the Dow to a fresh record.
BlueScope shares see massive gains as the steel producer is offered billions in a takeover bid.
Follow the day’s financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters on our live blog.
Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.
Key Events
Market snapshot
- ASX 200: -0.3% to 8,702 points
- Australian dollar: flat at 67.14 US cents
- S&P 500: +0.6% to 6,902 points
- Nasdaq: +0.7% at 23,395 points
- Dow Jones: +1.2% at 48,977 points
- FTSE: +0.5% to 10,004 points
- EuroStoxx: +0.9% to 602 points
- Spot gold: -0.2% to $US4,439/ounce
- Brent crude: -0.4% to $US61.53/barrel
- Bitcoin: -0.3% to $US93,790
Prices current around 12:51 pm AEDT
Live updates on the major ASX indices:
Chubu Electric falls in Tokyo trading after nuclear plant test disclosure
Chubu Electric Power shares have fallen by the most in more than a year in Tokyo trading after the Japanese utility disclosed possible problems with earthquake standards used at a nuclear plant.
The company’s stock led declines on the benchmark Nikkei gauge, falling 7.3% in early trading, poised for the sharpest slide since August 2024.
Chubu Electric said on Monday it might have used a different method than explained to regulators to select representative seismic waves during the review of two reactors at its Hamaoka power station.
The discrepancy could “significantly impact” the regulatory review of the central Japan plant, the utility said in a statement.
Reporting with Reuters
Key Event
US company gets BlueScope’s North American operations if takeover successful
Kerry Stokes-controlled firm SGH has launched a $13.2 billion takeover bid for BlueScope Steel, in partnership with a US firm.
It is the third time the American company Steel Dynamics has tried to buy BlueScope‘s North American operations in two years.
If the takeover is successful, SGH (formerly Seven Group Holdings) plans to offload BlueScope’s North American businesses, which make flat rolled and coated steel products, to its partner in the bid, US company Steel Dynamics.
My colleague Ben Butler has more.
Life360 falls after completing acquisition of Nativo
Dual-listed location safety app Life360 has seen its share price drop 2% after announcing the completion of its acquisition of Nativo, an advertising technology company, for around $120 million.
The company also told the market its monthly active users in the US had surpassed 50 million.
Life360’s share price was $31.3 per share as of 12:25pm AEDT.
US oil companies to meet Trump administration — CBS
CBS News is reporting that representatives from petroleum giants Chevron, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil are set to meet with the Trump administration this week to discuss Venezuela, citing two unnamed sources.
The meeting is set to take place on Thursday, local time, with Energy Secretary Chris Wright, according to CBS.
Venezuela sits on roughly 18 per cent of all oil in the ground, followed by Saudi Arabia at 16 per cent and Canada on 10 per cent.
Trump is not being shy about grabbing as much of it as he can, saying over the weekend he would take control of Venezuela’s oil business, which had been “a total bust for a very long time”.
BlueScope rockets by over 20pc
Earlier, we reported on BlueScope being the top mover on the ASX200 following a $13.15 billion takeover offer.
As of 11:30am AEDT, the steel producer has put on around a fifth of its value in the morning trade.
BlueScope’s share price is trading at $29.78 per share, up 20.9%.
Give me the data
Live market chart please
– chrisso
Apologies Chrisso, that should be in your market snapshot now for you!
Key Event
Has Australia benefited from tariffs?
Despite tariffs imposed by President Trump, Australia’s trade balance with the US improved through 2025, according to J.P.Morgan.
The calendar year deficit is also on track to more than halve relative to last year.
Analysts from J.P.Morgan say apparent front-loading saw the monthly bilateral trade balance enter surplus immediately following Liberation Day, the first time this has happened since the ABS began publishing country-specific balances almost 40 years ago.
The Australia-US balance has since returned to deficit, but remains above the average levels of 2023/2024.
Here is a look at Australian gold exports, which have greatly influenced these figures.
Shipment values of gold have increased 10x relative to last year and the rolling 12-month sum is tracking a little above $AU15 billion.
The more recent trade balance improvement is closely related to exports of beef, transport and pharmaceutical products.
Thanks to the relatively low 10% “baseline” tariffs, Australian beef exports to the US have spiked 35% year-to-date.
Analysts say the relative tariff story is evident, to a degree, across the remaining major export groups, with pharmaceutical exports holding steady and transport/aircraft shipments posting double-digit gains.
ASX movement
The ASX is up +0.2% to 8,742 points, and the Aussie dollar is pretty flat at 67 US cents.
Here is a breakdown of the sectors, led by Basic Materials.
Of the stocks, there are 116 in the red, 6 unchanged, and 78 gaining.
Here are the top movers, led by BlueScope.
And here are the bottom movers, with Silex Systems down -26.1%.
Key Event
BlueScope at the top of the ASX
BlueScope (BSL) is the top mover on the ASX200 at the open, up +17.9%.
It comes as the steel production company has received a $13.15 billion takeover offer from an Australian and US consortium, including SGH (formerly Seven Group Holdings).
BlueScope said it received the “unsolicited, non-binding and indicative proposal” in mid-December, at a price of $30 cash per BlueScope share, although no decision has been made yet.
It’s the fourth offer in months.
ASX opens in the green
The Australian share market has opened up +0.4% to 8,761 points.
I’ll provide a detailed breakdown in a moment!
Key Event
Investors shrug off strikes by US
Global equities jumped back to record highs as investors in the US shrugged off the events in Venezuela over the weekend, says Capital.com senior financial market analyst Kyle Rodda.
“Simply and crudely put, for stocks, what happened in Venezuela doesn’t matter because, purely from an investment and economic perspective, Venezuela doesn’t matter. It’s a small, mendicant economy that has been all but cut off from global markets for at least a decade,” he says.
The US strikes on Venezuela were about oil control, which mainly sits as reserves in the South American country, leaving many question marks around if and when production may begin.
“That relies on Venezuela cooperating with the US going forward, and the necessary investment to revitalise the country’s all but dormant energy industry. There’s also the global geopolitical ramifications. US adversaries like Russia and China have a strategic interest in Venezuela.
“However, the risk of escalation from the invasion looks contained, judging by the limited response from these countries. This is especially given the strong possibility that they – along with members of the Venezuelan regime – were in some way complicit with the abduction, given the ease in which it was pulled off,” he says.
The end of the week will bring the latest Non-Farm Payrolls report – the most complete picture of the US labour market since the onset of the US government shut down last year.
Kyle Rodda says “it’s expected to show a slight dip in the unemployment rate to 4.5%”.
Key Event
Monadelphous secures major construction contract with BHP
Engineering company Monadelphous has announced a major construction contract with the Australian multinational mining and metals corporation BHP.
The $175 million contract is for a car dumper project, and includes civil, structural, mechanical, piping, and electrical works associated with the replacement of key equipment during a planned major shutdown.
The project is located at Finucane Island in Port Hedland, Western Australia.
Monadelphous managing director Zoran Bebic says “we are pleased to build on our long-standing relationship with BHP and look forward to the safe and reliable execution of the car dumper works”.
Key Event
2025 car sale results
New data from the peak body for Australia’s automotive industry has the numbers for 2025 car sales, with SUV sales dominating the market.
The 2025 VFACTS results from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) show SUVs accounted for nearly two-thirds of all new vehicle sales.
Passenger car sales continued declining, while vehicles from China grew in demand, driven by increased model choice and competitive pricing.
Plug-in hybrid sales have more than doubled year-on-year, while battery electric vehicle uptake also continued to grow.
Purchasing decisions remain influenced by:
- Affordability
- Charging access
- Suitability and lifestyle factors
This data doesn’t include detailed EV sales, they are captured by the Electric Vehicle Council, who released figures for December 2025. Some of the main findings are below:
- Polestar sales increased by 38.5% in calendar year 2025 compared with 2024, with total national vehicle sales climbing to 2,373.
- Tesla sales declined by 24.8% year-on-year, with annual vehicle sales reaching 28,856.
- The Tesla Model Y was the most popular vehicle in December 2025 with 1998 sales – a 7.4% increase over the corresponding period in 2024. Across the calendar year, sales of the Tesla Model Y reached 22,239 – up 4.6% annually.
Why does Trump want Venezuela’s oil reserves?
The world currently has far too much oil, so why would US President Donald Trump look to produce more?
Producing oil in Venezuela is no easy feat either; it would cost billions before it’s even begun to update old infrastructure.
In this latest piece of analysis by business correspondent David Taylor, he looks at whether this move by Trump is actually about production, or more about power.
You can read it below:
Wall Street bets on Trump and Venezuelan success
Investors have pumped billions of dollars in Wall Street overnight.
The thinking appears to be that US President Donald Trump’s attack on Venezuela won’t produce any major geopolitical blowback.
Rather, traders have injected billions of dollars into companies they perceive will benefit from US ownership of the South American nation’s oil infrastructure.
“Energy stocks led the advance on expectation US companies could benefit from future investment tied to Venezuela’s oil infrastructure,” MooMoo Australia dealing manager Jimmy Tran wrote.
Chevron surged 5.1%, Exxon Mobil added 2.2%, while Halliburton spiked 7.8%.
“[Venezuela’s] infrastructure needs to be improved, and possibly that is something that the US can help with,” chief investment strategist at CFRA Research, Sam Stovall, told US network CNBC.
The rally in energy stocks saw the Dow Jones Industrial Index close up 1.2% to a record high.
Key Event
BlueScope considering $13b takeover bid led by Stokes’ SGH
BlueScope Steel has received a $13.15 billion takeover offer from an Australian and US consortium, including SGH (formerly Seven Group Holdings).
The steelmaker confirmed the approach in an ASX release after the closing bell on Monday, responding to media speculation.
BlueScope said it received the “unsolicited, non-binding and indicative proposal” in mid-December, at a price of $30 cash per BlueScope share.
Under the offer, SGH would acquire all of the shares and then sell BlueScope’s North American businesses on to its consortium partner, Steel Dynamics.
BlueScope also said it had rejected three earlier bids involving Steel Dynamics, which “significantly undervalued” the firm.
WA billionaire businessman Kerry Stokes is the major shareholder of SGH and his son Ryan Stokes is its chief executive.
“We believe BlueScope’s Australian business is a strong strategic fit for SGH and we have a proven track record of driving performance improvement in domestic industrial businesses,” Stokes junior said in an ASX statement this morning.
SGH would retain the BlueScope businesses in Australia, Asia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands under the proposal.
BlueScope shares closed at $24.45 yesterday and haven’t come close to the $30 offer price in the last year.
Monday Finance with David Chau
If you’re after a quick update on yesterday’s finance news, my colleague David Chau put together this report, which looks at the reaction of markets and investors to the news out of the US and Venezuela.
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Key Event
Dow Jones closes at all time high
Wall Street has climbed overnight and this morning, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting an all-time high, thanks to surging financial shares.
Energy firms also jumped after the U.S. strike on Venezuela.
Dow Jones closed Monday afternoon trading up +1.3% at 48,977 points.
S&P 500 closed up +0.6% at 6,902 points.
Nasqad closed +0.8% at 25,401 points.
– Reporting with Reuters
Market snapshot
- ASX 200: +0.4 per cent to 8,761 points
- Australian dollar: flat at 67.14 US cents
- S&P 500: +0.6% to 6,902 points
- Nasdaq: +0.8% at 25,401 points
- Dow Jones: +1.2% at 48,977 points
- FTSE: +0.5% to 10,005 points
- EuroStoxx: +0.9% to 602 points
- Spot gold: +0.1% to $US4,454/ounce
- Brent crude: +1.7% to $US61.77/barrel
- Bitcoin: -0.1% to $US94,012
Prices current around 10:05am AEDT
Live updates on the major ASX indices:
![i’m-nervous,-too!-[part-2]](https://10xwealthreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/177042-im-nervous-too-part-2-1568x784.jpg)
