Afternoon Report | ASX dips on new Iran strikes
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Welcome to the Fear and Greed Business News Afternoon Report for Tuesday, the 26th of May, 2026. I'm Michael Thompson. And every afternoon, we've got the five stories that happened today that you need to know about. Let's go to story number one. The S&P ASX 200 fell 0.4% today. To 8,658 points as oil prices rose again following fresh US military strikes in southern Iran, putting a real dampener on hopes that a broader peace deal in the Middle East is getting close. Brent crude climbed back towards 100 US dollars a barrel after the United States carried out strikes on missile launch sites and also on vessels that it said were attempting to lay mines in the region. The sell-off on the ASX was pretty much broad-based.
10 of the market's 11 sectors were weaker. The company that runs the bourse was actually the worst performer today. ASX Limited plunged 13%. That is its biggest one-day fall on record after warning that technology spending and capital costs are going to jump sharply over the next financial year. The major banks were also lower today. Mining stocks, though, were a bit more resilient. After JPMorgan Chase lifted its long-term iron ore forecast, BHP, Fortescue and Rio Tinto all edged higher, while South32 was one of the day's strongest performers. Story number two now, an independent expert estimates that Toll Road Group Atlas Arteria is worth about $1 billion more than the offer made for the company by IFM investors.
The estimate, which was commissioned by Atlas, found the offer to be neither fair nor reasonable. IFM has bid $6.9 billion for Atlas, which operates motorways in the US and in Germany and also has a 30% stake in a French toll road group. Atlas today said that the bid was opportunistic and materially undervalued the company. IFM has offered $4.75 a share, which will rise to $5.10 if it secures 45% of Atlas. It already owns 34.5%. The independent experts, Kroll, who put together the report, said the company was worth between $5.39 and $6.20 a share, which is a fair way from where it is right now. On to story number three, a bit of a wrap of corporate news around today. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rallied more than 9% after it delivered an inline result for the 2026 fiscal year.
Kogan.com delivered a stronger than expected trading update with profitability beating forecasts despite revenue growth tracking slightly below consensus. Its share price, though, surged more than 18% today. Flight Centre downgraded its earnings outlook for this financial year slightly, saying that the typically strong leisure travel months of May and June have been weaker. Its share price closed 3% lower. And Infratil, the infrastructure investor, reported earnings for the year ended March in line with expectations. However, its guidance came in below forecasts. Its share price was off 6.3% today. Story number four, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says Australia could become one of the world's leading locations for AI data centres, pointing to the country's abundant renewable energy resources and also our political stability.
Speaking via video link. to Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Common at a conference organized by CBA in Sydney. Altman said Australia would rank among the best locations globally for large-scale data infrastructure. The comments come as OpenAI prepares to become the anchor customer for a massive new data center being developed here by NextDC. Altman also claimed that the AI industry is approaching artificial general intelligence. That is the point where AI systems can match human capability across a broad range of tasks. Meanwhile, Matt Common today warned AI would inevitably lead to job disruption, saying major employers had a responsibility to help workers retrain as the technology reshapes industries.
And finally, story number five on the topic of AI, Pope Leo has called for governments to slow down the development of artificial intelligence and impose stronger regulation, warning that the technology risks spreading misinformation, increasing conflict, and even fueling war.
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