Next Week At A Glance – 9-13 Mar 2026

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This story features BHP GROUP LIMITED, and other companies.
For more info SHARE ANALYSIS: BHP
The company is included in ASX20, ASX50, ASX100, ASX200, ASX300 and ALL-ORDS

A brief look at important company events and economic data releases next week

For a more comprehensive preview of next week’s events, please refer to “The Monday Report”, published each Monday morning. For all economic data release dates, ex-div dates and times and other relevant information, please refer to the FNArena Calendar.

The week that was in Australian finance:

-Not sure if everyone had a war in the Middle East on their bingo card for the start of 2026, but there were lots of hints dropped that the US would attack Iran, including the build-up of the naval armada in the Mediterranean. And so it happened last Saturday, with Israel launching the first strikes.

-What started as a few weeks’ incursion via air attacks, with the US Administration aiming for a Venezuela-like ‘regime’ change, has now morphed into a possible boots-on-the-ground scenario. Signals as to the reasons for the attack keep changing, and the length of the war remains uncertain. There are as many opinions as there are experts. Pick your narrative.

-Markets have responded negatively as oil and gas prices surged on what effectively has become the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, under threat of Iranian attacks on tankers.

-For those old enough to remember, the ghosts of the 1970s Oil Shock ring loud, as well as the supply chain impacts felt during covid lockdowns.

-Worst case is prolonged war and much higher oil prices, as well as a possible global recession, albeit the market is not taking this option to heart at this stage.

-With the US the least impacted due to relative oil self-sufficiency, the US dollar has been strengthening, with the Rest of the World markets selling off, particularly Europe and Emerging Markets. The ASX is not immune.

-Much of the selling has been concentrated this week in the February outperformers, think Materials and Financials, down circa -8% and -3.4%, respectively, albeit BHP Group ((BHP)) shares went ex-dividend.

-Stronger than expected Q4 2025 GDP also spooked investors, with the rates market starting to price in the possibility of a follow-up RBA rate hike in March. The next RBA cash rate decision is on March 17.

-The week past has been a clear negative for the ASX200, though energy rallied nearly 8% as the top-performing sector, alongside rotation into beaten-down technology stocks, with that sector up some 1.5%.

-Interest rate sensitive sectors were the worst hit, with consumer discretionary down nearly -5% and real estate some -4.5%.

The team at FNArena wishes everyone a great weekend.

Corporate news in the week that was:

-Magellan Financial ((MFG)) placed in a trading halt ahead of proposed equity raising and merger with Barrenjoey

-Lynas Rare Earths’ ((LYC)) Malaysia operating licence has been renewed for 10 years until 2036

-Synlait ((SM1)) secures banking waivers and extensions ahead of North Island asset sale

-Wagners family sell 30m share at $4.40 in Wagners Holdings ((WGN))

-InStitchu is simplifying its operations and refocusing on its 14-year-old made-to -measure menswear brands post $12.8m in divestments and equity raising

-Stonepeak has acquired a 50% stake in Qld retirement village developer and operator Aura

-L1 Capital ((L1G)) is looking to IPO a new ASX-listed gold and precious metal investment company

-Richard White’s Vinyl Group us acquiring Val Morgan Digital for $10.5m from Hoyts

-Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has sold its Novotel and Ibis hotels in Sydney’s Darling harbour to Wentworth Capital for $390m

-Future Group has acquired the superannuation trustee business of Willis Towers Watson and is exiting EQT Holdings ((EQT)) services

-Chemist Warehouse founders could sell Sigma Healthcare ((SIG)) shares after the strong results

-Realm Investment Management has $80m exposure to UK, Market Financial Solutions

-Blackstone has appointed Goldman Sachs to run a $1bn sale process for clinical trials group Nucleus Network.

-Fletcher Building ((FBU)) is being considered in a potential $3.2bn takeover approach from Heidelberg Materials and CRH following its restructuring.

-Unified Capital managed the Wagner family’s $4.40-a-share block trade to institutional fund managers.

-Canva’s reported gender pay gap has widened to 27% following its $1.6bn employee share sale.

-Permira has appointed a board for a potential I-MED IPO as healthcare assets including Greencross and Nucleus Network are assessed for sale.

-ING has paused new superannuation sign-ups amid suspicious activity and cybersecurity concerns.

-Apple is preparing touchscreen Mac models expected to incorporate an iPhone-style dynamic island feature.

-Research suggests upgrading Australia’s market technology infrastructure could add up to $24bn annually to the economy.

-PwC Australia has the smallest gender pay gap among the Big Four firms, with a 6% gap in favour of men.

-Westpac ((WBC)) has commenced migrating business banking clients from St George, BankSA and Bank of Melbourne onto its core platform.

-Swiss Partners Group is considering a bid for Infinity Pharmacy group, the owners of Priceline pharmacies, valued at $500m

-BGH Capital announced $2.4bn acquisition of Aspen Pharmacare’s Asia Pacific business quietly at the end of 2025

-Rio Tinto ((RIO)) is being challenged by investor Richard Magides to pay more than the 0.2c per share offered to acquire the 1.57% of Energy Resources of Australia ((ERA)) it does not own

-Pacific Green is looking to divest 100% of its 4.25GW Australian battery energy storage system platform 

-PlasmaLeap has secured $30m in funding lead by the Gates foundation as it aims to produce zero-emission ammonia and nitric acid

-Fletcher Building ((FBU)) secured a 10-year New Zealand highway maintenance contract

-Life360 ((360)) CEO Lauren Antonoff is slowing hiring as AI improves operational efficiency

-Pepperstone’s owners must pay $100m to CPE Capital following a profit dispute

-Acadia will challenge Europe’s rejection of its Rett syndrome treatment

-IREN is marketing in Sydney but remains cautious about building local data centres due to regulatory hurdles

-POSCO has criticised BlueScope Steel ((BSL)) over tariff protections while takeover discussions valued at $14.2bn continue

-Chinese authorities have warned traders against reselling BHP Group’s ((BHP)) iron ore cargoes as enforcement tightens

-The sale process for waste management company Bingo has shifted to a US led Moelis ((MAF)) team as Macquarie Group ((MQG)) and lenders explore buyer options

-Atlas Arteria’s ((ALX)) acquisition strategy has raised shareholder concerns, particularly about its increasing exposure to French toll roads

-Radiology group I-MED has appointed Barrenjoey ((MFG)), JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley to work on a potential IPO later this year

-KKR is looking at options to sell its disability housing investment, Synergis, for as much as $1bn

-Miami based, Starwood Capital is reported as bankrolling Blackstone’s $1.2bn purchase of Hamilton Island

-IPO hopeful SkinKandy has been out marketing this week, post initial guidance of a circa $299m raising and $400m valuation

-Pay.com.au is boosting its board in anticipating of its IPO

-London-listed Foresight is selling a 29.1% stake in Flinders Port Holdings, the largest seaport landlord in South Australia

-Salter Brothers and Kilara Capital have completed their first private equity deal through a joint venture, acquiring an 80-year-old battery wholesaler

-Corporate services provider Boardroom Pty Limited is preparing for a potential sale as it expands across Asia and interviews investment banks

-Online fashion retailer The Iconic has posted its first profit after 15 years, driven by technology upgrades and tighter cost control

Next week’s Corporate Calendar

For a calendar of upcoming events, see FNArena’s Corporate Calendar:

https://fnarena.com/index.php/financial-news/calendar/

For a calendar of earnings result releases and a summary of earnings results to date, refer to FNArena’s Corporate Results Monitor (https://www.fnarena.com/index.php/reporting_season/)

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