Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to the Fear and Greed Business News Afternoon Report for Thursday, the 7th of May, 2026. I'm Sean Aylmer. Every afternoon, we've got the five stories that happened today that you need to know about. Story number one, the S&P ASX 200 closed up 1% today to 8,878 points on hopes that the US and Iran are close to a peace agreement.
More on that shortly. The materials sector led the way as commodity prices rebounded, while the energy stocks underperformed as the price of Brent headed back towards $100 a barrel. Gold producers rallied as the price of the precious metal jumped for the third day in a row. The banks were also higher, with the exception of National Australia Bank, which went ex-dividend.
One of the worst performers of the top 200 was Viva Energy. It was down 5% after a director offloaded more than $600,000 worth of shares. Story number two, IFM Investors has accused Atlas Arteria of not informing shareholders quickly enough of its decision to sell its massive Chicago Skyway motorway. IFM already owns 36% of Atlas.
It has lobbed a bid for the rest, valuing the company at $6.9 billion.
Chapter 2: What impact does the rise in oil prices have on the ASX?
In an escalation of hostilities between the bidder and the target, IFM claims that the market had traded on an uninformed basis and the toll road group's disclosures were inadequate. There'll be plenty more to come on that one.
Story number three, explosives group Orica has been hit, pardon the pun, by a blast at the plant of its ammonium nitrate supplier in the US, causing a big one-off cost that offset strong sales of chemicals to the gold sector. The mining services group was forced to find an alternative supplier of the explosives ingredient.
and that underpinned a $284 million significant item in its half-year result at the end of March. Released today, excluding these costs, Orica posted an 8% jump in profit. Founded back in 1874 in the Victorian goldfields as Jones Scott & Co., Orica has expanded into a global operation that produces and supplies explosives, blasting systems, specialty mining chemicals, and geotechnical monitoring.
Story number four. Four so-called ISIS brides are expected to land in Australia tonight with their children and could be promptly arrested. Nine media is reporting that Jenai Safa will arrive in Sydney tonight with her nine-year-old son, who was born in Syria and has spent his whole life living in Islamic State-controlled territory or Syrian detention camps.
A separate family group of three women and eight children are due to arrive in Melbourne tonight. The women followed their husbands who were fighting for ISIS to Syria. The federal government has made it clear it is not assisting the women and children to return. Their legal status is not clear.
And story number five, the US and Iran were circling around a fresh proposal to end the war as President Donald Trump searches for an exit from a conflict that has elevated energy prices and damaged his political standing. Washington has presented a one-page memorandum of understanding that would gradually reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift the American blockade on Iranian ports.
According to Bloomberg, detailed negotiations over Iran's nuclear program would come later in the process, although nothing has yet been agreed upon. Let's hope there's some resolution soon. That's it for the afternoon report for Thursday, the 7th of May, 2026. Make sure you're following the podcast and head along to fearandgreed.com.au to sign up for our free daily newsletter. I'm Sean Aylmer.
Enjoy your evening.
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