Next Week At A Glance – 30 Mar – 3 April 2026

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            [9] => RIO
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            [11] => SGP
            [12] => TLS
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This story features MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED, and other companies.
For more info SHARE ANALYSIS: MQG
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:

-Markets vacillated between hope of a resolution to the Middle East war on President Trump’s announcements, and concerns it will drag on, following Iran’s pushback on ceasefire negotiations and settlement, with further global oil supply problems and rising inflationary impacts leading to slowing economic growth.

-Mixed messages on the war hang like a shroud of ‘stagflation’ concerns over global equity markets, as the war has dragged into a fourth week with no signs of ending as yet.

-Australian technology shares followed US counterparts, falling over the last week, down -4.2% and bringing the losses for March to around -11% and over -26% for the second successive quarter. The Nasdaq Composite was off -10% at the close on Thursday since its October 29 high as Meta fell nearly -8% on adverse social media court rulings.

-The ASX200 managed to move higher over the week, a relief rally on hope and a more moderate inflation print but remains down around -2.7% as the March quarter draws to a close, with two more trading days next week.

-The Australian February CPI print was a tenth lower than expected on both headline and trimmed mean measures. The overall assessment of the data was that underlying inflation pressure was tracking a little softer in 1Q2026 than the RBA feared in their Feb SoMP forecast

-The market is pricing around 17bps of tightening for the RBA’s May meeting, with cumulative 65bps of hikes priced in for the remainder of 2026

-Investors continued to support the energy trade, with materials and utilities the two strongest performers. Consumer discretionary also caught a bid on the softer CPI print.

-The Iranian conflict continues to weigh on global sentiment, with the OECD (group of 38 major economies) now projecting US inflation at 4.2% this year, well above last week’s Fed estimate of 2.7%.

-BlackRock has warned crude oil could hit US$150/bbl even if a ceasefire is imminent because supply chains will not snap back immediately

-Looking ahead, several REITs go ex-dividend on Monday, while the RBA will release its March meeting minutes on Tuesday. The week will be shortened with public holidays on Friday and the following Monday for Easter.

-Markets are likely to remain anchored to any changes, positive or otherwise, in the Middle East.

The team at FNArena wishes everyone a great weekend.

Corporate news in the week that was:

-Court finds Macquarie Group ((MQG)) breached rules over failed Shield investment oversight.

-Infinity Pharmacy Group ((WES)) sale down to four bidders for $400–$500m portfolio

-Canva targets IPO next year 

-Richard White personally negotiated $5m settlement over WiseTech Global’s ((WTC)) employee allegations

-KMD Brands ((KMD)) has rejected a takeover approach from US surfwear group Stokehouse after concluding the proposal would dilute shareholders and fail to deliver value.

-Multiple market participants have informed Capital Brief that ASIC has intensified its scrutiny of the private credit sector in recent weeks

-Perseus Mining ((PRU)) buys 9.9% stake in Aurum Resources ((AUE))

-Google halts $20bn Australia data centre plan over tax fears

-ABC staff to strike for first time since 2006

-Santos ((STO)) suffers breakdown at its brand new $6bn Barossa gas project in the Timor Sea forcing a shutdown of the company’s recently restarted Darwin LNG plant

-Domain Holdings ((DHG)), owned by CoStar, is undercutting REA Group’s ((REA)) price hikes to gain market share

-Commonwealth and Queensland governments have agreed a 10-year deal with Rio Tinto ((RIO)) to run its massive Boyne aluminium plant on clean energy

-Oracle launched an AI centre in Sydney to support businesses in adopting cloud and AI technologies

-Downer EDI ((DOW)) secured a $500m, five-year facilities management contract with Stockland ((SGP))

-Australian Prudential Regulation Authority warns climate risks may raise uninsured homes

-Telstra ((TLS)) is raising mobile plan prices, again

-Pepper Money ((PPM)) ends take-over talks with Challenger ((CGF))

-4DMedical ((4DX)) shares rally after Mayo Clinic tech deployment

-NatWest has begun transacting on Pexa Group’s ((PXA)) UK platform, starting with remortgage transactions

-EVT Ltd ((EVT)) completed a $750m refinancing deal, expanding its debt facilities and improving financing terms

-Meta Platforms and YouTube found liable in major social media addiction case

-DCP Capital nears $450m acquisition of Vitaco, owner of Musashi and Nutra-Life

-Aware Super and TelstraSuper $237bn merger triggers redemptions, effective April 30

-Carbon Revolution enters administration as demand weakens, Geelong plant to keep operating

-Weebit Nano ((WBT)) prepares for $100m capital raise with terms and lead managers pending

-Vantage Point Asset Management targets $10bn from super funds to develop a Vietnam financial hub

-Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group takeover speculation may slow Jefferies’ expansion in Australia

-David Jones seeks to refinance $150m debt amid financial pressure

-Sydney and Melbourne airports increasingly access offshore bond markets to secure funding amid volatility

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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