Markets Live Updates: ASX Likely to Rise, Commonwealth Bank Reveals $5.4B Profit, CSL Profit Drops as CEO Exits
Pinned
2h ago, Tue 10 Feb 2026 at 8:24 pm
Market Snapshot
By David Chau
- ASX Futures: +0.3% to 8,844 points
- ASX 200 (Tuesday close): Flat at 8,867 points
- Australian Dollar: -0.2% to 70.76 US Cents
- Wall Street: Dow Jones (+0.2%), S&P 500 (-0.1%), Nasdaq (-0.3%)
- Europe: FTSE (-0.3%), DAX (-0.1%), Stoxx 600 (-0.1%)
- Gold: -0.8% to $US5,025/ounce
- Silver: -2.7% to $US81.13/ounce
- Oil (Brent Crude): -0.2% to $US68.89/barrel
- Iron Ore: +0.5% to $US100.40/tonne
- Bitcoin: -1.7% to $US69,164
Prices Current Around 7:20 am AEDT
Key Event
4m ago, Tue 10 Feb 2026 at 10:46 pm
CSL Reveals Half-Year Profit Dropped 80%, Day After CEO Forced Out
By David Chau
CSL has reported a sharp fall in profits, a day after the biotech giant dumped its CEO, Paul McKenzie, and blamed him for the company's weaker performance.
Its statutory profit plunged 80% to $US401 million in the half-year ended December 31, 2025.
The company also said, on an alternative measure, its underlying profit fell by just 6% to $US1.95 billion. (In a footnote, CSL said this metric excludes 'amortisation of acquired IP and significant non-recurring items' that are related to 'one-off impairments and restructuring costs').
Let's Take a Closer Look at What Went Wrong
* CSL's total revenue for the first half fell 4% to $US8.33 billion.
* Its core plasma unit, CSL Behring, posted revenue of $US5.5 billion, down 7%. (It was dragged down by immunoglobulin and albumin sales, which fell 6% and 27% respectively).
'We are clearly not satisfied with our performance and have implemented a number of initiatives to drive stronger growth going forward,' said Ken Lim, CSL's chief financial officer.
CSL said it has delivered about 60% of its targeted cost savings for fiscal 2026, largely through cuts in fixed research costs, lower infrastructure spending, and the integration of its Behring and Vifor commercial and medical teams.
The company reaffirmed its forecast for fiscal 2026, expecting modest revenue growth and a return to mid-single-digit growth in underlying profit, excluding one-off restructuring costs and impairments.
Those restructuring efforts, however, came at a cost in the first half.
CSL said it expects to book roughly US$1.1 billion in after-tax, non-restructuring impairments for the full year, with almost all of that already recognised.
It also declared an interim dividend of $US1.30 per share, unchanged from a year ago.
26m ago, Tue 10 Feb 2026 at 10:25 pm
Tuesday Market Recap: Alan Kohler's Finance Report
By David Chau
If you want a quick recap of what happened on the share market before today's trading session, I can recommend Alan Kohler's finance report.
Among other things, he talked about the Australian dollar breaking out of its five-year downward trend as a result of surging gold, silver, and copper prices, as well as the decline of the US greenback.
31m ago, Tue 10 Feb 2026 at 10:20 pm
ASX Chief Executive Helen Lofthouse to Step Down in May
By David Chau
The CEO of ASX Limited, Helen Lofthouse, will step down in May after an 11-year career at the stock exchange operator.
ASX did not provide a specific reason for her departure.
It also made the announcement late yesterday (at 6:18 pm), when the market had already closed, and just before the ASX is due to unveil its financial results on Thursday.
Ms Lofthouse, who was appointed as CEO in 2022, is resigning after years of bad publicity for the company.
Be prepared - I'm about to write a long list of problems affecting the ASX.
Fines, Lawsuits, and Misleading Statements
In March 2024, ASIC fined the ASX $1.1 million for breaching market integrity rules. The corporate regulator said the ASX failed to publish pre-trade information for more than 8,000 transactions.
Then, in August 2024, ASIC sued the ASX for allegedly making misleading statements related to its CHESS replacement project, including that it was 'on track for go-live' and 'progressing well'.
Since 2015, the ASX has been trying to replace its three-decade-old platform (used to clear and settle trades) with little success.
CHESS stands for Clearing House Electronic Subregister System, in case you're wondering.
Shortly afterwards, in December 2024, the ASX's CHESS system broke down in the week before Christmas.
The outage delayed the settlement of trades and raised concerns about the ASX's ability to maintain critical market infrastructure.
Wrong TPG and Another Outage
In June 2025, ASIC commenced a broad investigation into the ASX, escalating tensions that had been simmering for years amid a botched software upgrade and a series of trade-processing glitches.
ASIC chairman Joe Longo said the Reserve Bank (the other joint regulator of the stock exchange) also held ongoing concerns about the ability of ASX to maintain stable, secure, and resilient critical market infrastructure.
This eventually led to ASIC imposing an additional capital charge of $150 million on ASX's accounts.
Then, in August 2025, ASX caused TPG Telecom's share price to plunge as a result of a clerical error.
The exchange operator published news of a takeover announcement on its website, involving TPG Capital, but it wrongly tagged the telco in that announcement.
More than $400 million was wiped off TPG Telecom's market value as a result of the sell-off before the ASX suspended the stock from trading and said it was cancelling those trades.
In December 2025, the ASX revealed its platform suffered an outage, which prevented many companies from publishing price-sensitive announcements. This forced the ASX to place as many as 80 stocks under trading halts.
Sharp Rise in ASX's Costs
And finally, in January 2026, the exchange operator flagged a sharp increase in annual costs as it stepped up spending on technology and risk controls after a regulatory inquiry.
It now expects its fiscal 2026 expenses to rise between 20% and 23%, compared with the 14% to 19% growth seen earlier.
Its total expenses, including ASIC inquiry-related costs, came in at $264.3 million for the first half of fiscal 2026 (up 20% from the prior year).
It's perhaps no surprise that ASX's share price has dropped by almost 10% in the past year.
51m ago, Tue 10 Feb 2026 at 10:00 pm
How 'Capacity Constraints' are Linked to Inflation and Your Hip Pocket
By David Chau
The phrases 'capacity constraints' or 'capacity pressures' have been thrown around quite a bit lately.
Despite their lack of clarity, the phrases are central to the language key economic policymakers are using.
For instance, the Reserve Bank justified its decision to lift interest rates earlier this month by saying:
'The board has been closely monitoring the economy and judges that some of the increase in inflation reflects greater capacity pressures.'
But what the heck does that actually mean?
The crucial point to make up-front is that capacity constraints are inextricably linked to inflation, and therefore pain in your hip pocket.
Luckily, my colleague David Taylor is here to explain it simply for you in plain (non-economic) English.
1h ago, Tue 10 Feb 2026 at 9:43 pm
Dow Jones Hits Record High as Other Wall Street Indexes Fall Slightly
By David Chau
Wall Street has now finished trading, and it was quite a lacklustre performance:
- Dow Jones: +0.1% to 50,188 points
- S&P 500: -0.3% to 6,942 points
- Nasdaq Composite: -0.6% to 23,102 points
While the Dow Jones hit a record high (for the third time this week), the S&P and Nasdaq went backwards.
Shares of retailers Costco and Walmart fell 2.6% and 1.8%, respectively.
That's after the latest US official figures showed retail spending was flat in December (missing expectations of a 0.4% gain).
Financial stocks were also hit hard, including LPL Financial (-8.3%), Charles Schwab (-7.4%), and Morgan Stanley (-2.4%). This was after tech platform Altruist launched its new AI-driven tax planning tool.
1h ago, Tue 10 Feb 2026 at 9:29 pm
Rental Affordability Hits Record Low as Rents Rise 2.5 Times Faster than Wages, Analysis Shows
By David Chau
Australian rents have risen 2.5 times faster than wages over the past five years, pushing rental affordability to record lows, according to new analysis by property research firm Cotality.
National rents climbed 43.9% in the five years to September 2025, compared with wage growth of 17.5% over the same period.
As a result, tenants now pay an average 33.4% of their pre-tax income on rent — the highest level on record, according to Cotality — placing growing strain on household budgets.
That is compared to a decade-long average of 29.2%, and a recent low of 26.2% in the September quarter of 2020.
For more on these worrying developments, here's the story by Samuel Yang.
1h ago, Tue 10 Feb 2026 at 9:18 pm
CBA Chief Executive Matt Comyn is 'Optimistic' About the Economy Despite Higher Inflation Pressure
By David Chau
Whenever a company announces its financial results, investors are also interested in hearing the CEO's thoughts about the future (or the outlook statement).
Here's what Commonwealth Bank's CEO, Matt Comyn, said in this morning's half-year results announcement:
'Economic growth strengthened during the half, driven by an increase in consumer demand and rising investment in AI and energy infrastructure.
'Supply side constraints mean that the economy is struggling to meet this increased demand.
'As a result, inflation is now expected to remain above the Reserve Bank's target band for some time, placing further upward pressure on interest rates.
'We will continue to seek to support our customers with financial resilience.'
Mr Comyn also says he is 'optimistic about the prospects for the economy'.
1h ago, Tue 10 Feb 2026 at 9:14 pm
Commonwealth Bank Reveals 6% Jump in Half-Year Cash Profit
By David Chau
Commonwealth Bank also revealed its cash net profit rose 6% to $5.45 billion.
That's another way of tracking the bank's underlying profitability — in fact, it's CBA's preferred measure.
But what actually is cash profit, you may be wondering?
It's a measure that Australian banks use to show the strength of their ongoing operations.
Basically, the bank subtracts its non-business-as-usual items (e.g., revenue hedges, treasury shares, gains or losses from any sales or acquisitions) from its statutory profit.
'A strong labour market and, until recently, easing interest rates, have provided some relief for borrowers, and our credit quality has improved,' CBA said in its results announcement.
'While conditions remain challenging for some customers, recent improvements in economic activity reinforce the resilience of the Australian economy.'
1h ago, Tue 10 Feb 2026 at 9:08 pm
Commonwealth Bank Lifts Lending and Deposit Volumes
By Stephanie Chalmers
Looking at CBA's results presentation, it has included this slide comparing the growth in its lending and deposit volumes compared to the broader banking system:
'Net profit after tax was supported by lending and deposit volume growth in our core businesses,' the bank noted in its ASX release.
'This was partly offset by lower margins and higher operating expenses primarily due to inflation and our continued investment in technology.'
1h ago, Tue 10 Feb 2026 at 9:03 pm
CBA Shareholders to Receive $2.35 Dividend
By Stephanie Chalmers
Of interest to many Australians, given how many own CBA shares — the dividend.
The major bank has announced an interim dividend of $2.35 per share, fully franked.
That's a 10 cent, or 4%, increase on the first half of the 2025 financial year.
1h ago, Tue 10 Feb 2026 at 8:58 pm
Commonwealth Bank Reports $5.4 Billion Half-Year Profit
By David Chau
Commonwealth Bank has reported an increased half-year profit, driven by solid growth in deposits and its lending business.
CBA's statutory net profit rose 5% to $5.41 billion in the half-year ended December 31, 2025.
However, the bank's margins are under pressure due to tighter competition for loans in a low-interest-rate environment.
Its net interest margin (the difference between its lending and deposit interest rates), fell 4 basis points to 2.04%, compared to a year ago.
More to come.
1h ago, Tue 10 Feb 2026 at 8:52 pm
CSL Dumps Chief Executive Ahead of Results Announcement
By David Chau
CSL has abruptly dumped its CEO, Paul McKenzie, just before the biotech giant is set to announce its half-year results this morning.
Yesterday at 4:05 pm (just after the ASX had closed), CSL told the market that Dr McKenzie had 'retired' from the company.
Then at 5 pm, its chairman, Brian McNamee, and the new interim CEO, Gordon Naylor, hosted an analyst call to explain what happened (at very short notice).
CSL, the former market darling, has been under a lot of pressure lately.
Its share price has dropped by 33% over the past year, wiping $70 billion off its market value.
In that time, CSL flagged 3,000 job cuts, a $750 million share buyback, and a downgrade of its earnings forecast.
It also announced the separation of its vaccines division, Seirus, from its main business. But those demerger plans have since been put on hold given the unpopular reception it has received from investors.
In the past year, there has also been a major pushback against immunisation in the United States, with many vaccines now deemed optional there.
Yesterday, during the analyst call, the CSL chairman had some harsh words about Dr McKenzie's performance.
Mr McNamee said:
'When the board sat down recently and looked at our business and thinking about where we need to go in the future, we in discussion with Paul recognised that he didn't have the skills that we wanted for the future.
'We discussed this question of him, therefore, [he is] retiring.
'So there were clear signs at the AGM [annual general meeting] that we had a sense of urgency of getting on with things, and we've made excellent progress I think in the transformation, which you'll hear of tomorrow.
'But we're impatient. Our shareholders cannot be happy with the performance because the Board certainly is not happy with the performance as well.'
2h ago, Tue 10 Feb 2026 at 8:49 pm
As Many as 209 Jobs to Go from Telstra AI Joint Venture with Accenture, Moving Roles to India
By David Chau
The AI joint venture (JV) connected to Telstra and consultancy Accenture is planning to slash 209 jobs.
The $700 million JV was announced early in 2025.
The purpose of the business vehicle was to improve business processes.
A JV spokesperson told the ABC, '… we spoke with the Telstra Accenture Data & AI Joint Venture (JV) team today about proposed changes to its workforce, including reducing roles where work is no longer needed, and moving some work to the JV team in India'.
'These changes
