Live: Oil prices surge after US launches strikes on Iran, ASX to slip after Wall Street's tech sell-off

The Australian share market is likely to fall in morning trade after a sell-off across technology and artificial intelligence (AI) stocks knocked Wall Street's tech index, the Nasdaq Composite, sharply lower.

Oil prices surged after the US confirmed it launched strikes on Iran, after three commercial ships were attacked near the Strait of Hormuz.

See how the trading day unfolds on our blog.

Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.

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Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 7:54am

Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 7:54am

Market snapshot

By David Chau

ASX futures: -0.4% to 8,749 points

ASX 200 (Tuesday close): -0.3% to 8,804 points

Australian dollar: -0.4% to 69.3 US cents

Wall Street: Dow Jones (-0.3%), S&P 500 (-0.5%), Nasdaq Composite (-1.2%)

Europe: FTSE (+0.1%), Stoxx 600 (-0.7%)

Spot gold: -1.5% to $US4,103/ounce

Oil (Brent crude): +6.4% to $US76.56/barrel

Iron ore: +0.1% to $US98.10/tonne

Bitcoin: -0.3% to $US63,758

Prices current around 7:40am AEST

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Key Event

Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 8:58am

Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 8:58am

How Trump has made a fortune off crypto despite Bitcoin price slump

By David Chau

The price of bitcoin climbed to a record high of around $US126,000 in October.

Since then, the cryptocurrency market has crashed, and the value of bitcoin has halved to $US63,519.

"Bitcoin mining" uses enormous amounts of computing power and electricity — the price of which has risen sharply in recent months.

Many of these bitcoin mining centres are now switching to become "data centres" because of the more lucrative AI boom.

The ABC's chief business correspondent Ian Verrender says a lot of major institutions have recently been selling off their cryptocurrency, including Michael Saylor's company Strategy.

Just 18 months ago, Mr Saylor said "never sell your Bitcoin".

But more recently, he began selling small parcels of his crypto and authorised a program to sell up to $US1.25 billion of Strategy's reserves if need be. It's definitely not a vote of confidence!

Despite the slump, US President Donald Trump and his family reaped a $US1.4 billion bonanza from crypto ventures alone.

In their crypto dealings, the Trump family has taken the cash up-front, or clipped the ticket on transactions, rather than holding cryptocurrencies as assets.

Key Event

Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 8:38am

Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 8:38am

No ASX statement from Telstra yet

By Stephanie Chalmers

Shares in Telstra will be on watch when the market opens in just under 1.5 hours.

However, there is no ASX statement from Telstra yet.

Key Event

Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 8:24am

Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 8:24am

📢 Call-out: Have you been affected by the Telstra outage?

By David Chau

At this stage, we're still trying to determine how widespread this Telstra outage is.

Here's what we know so far:

Public transport in Canberra, as well as regional NSW and regional Victoria, have been affected.

Taxi passengers are reporting they are unable to complete payments.

Customers of Boost, Aldi, Tangerine, Belong and Everyday Mobile are also reporting outages. These mobile providers operate on Telstra's network.

Have you been affected by the Telstra outage?

We'd like to hear from you if you've been seriously  inconvenienced by this latest 'telco fail' — or if you're running a small business and suddenly find yourself unable to accept payments.

You can either email me at [email protected] or you can leave a comment on this blog.

Key Event

Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 8:21am

Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 8:21am

Telstra outage impacts public transport in several states

By Stephanie Chalmers

This outage is a big deal for the Australian economy, given how intertwined the Telstra network is with so many sectors.

There has been a fallout across transport networks:

All regional train services in Victoria have been suspended, operator V/Line says

Canberra's public transport authorities are working to fix an information outage with its ticketing system, MyWay+

In regional NSW, there are no trains running between Newcastle and Maitland this morning

You can follow along with the dedicated Telstra blog, open a new tab:

Key Event

Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 8:06am

Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 8:06am

Telstra outage: Mobile network crashes nationwide, causing transport and payment delays

By David Chau

Telstra customers across the country are reporting that the provider's mobile network has crashed, potentially leaving millions of Australians unable to make phone calls or access the internet.

Users of other mobile providers that operate on Telstra's network, including Boost, Aldi, Tangerine, Belong and Everyday Mobile, are also reporting outages.

However, the outage does not appear to be affecting all the telco's customers, with some reporting on social media that they are still able to make calls, access the internet, or both.

Calls to Triple Zero (000) should be unaffected by the outage, with calls rerouted to use other providers' mobile networks.

All regional train services in Victoria have been suspended, and taxi passengers are reporting they are unable to complete payments.

For more details, here's the story by Andrew Thorpe:

Key Event

Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 8:02am

Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 8:02am

ASX to open lower after Wall Street's tech and AI sell-off

By David Chau

The Australian share market is likely to begin its day slightly lower, following the flare-up in Middle East hostilities.

ASX futures were down 0.4% by around 7:55am AEST.

It also doesn't help that Wall Street finished its day in the red, with the S&P 500 falling 0.5% to 7,504 points.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.2% to 25,819 points as technology and artificial intelligence (AI) stocks were sold off.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3% to 52,925 points.

The Dow briefly hit a new record high earlier in the session before losing ground.

The Australian dollar, meanwhile, is slightly weaker at 69.2 US cents.

Key Event

Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 7:54am

Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 7:54am

US launches 'powerful strikes’ on Iran, oil prices surge 6pc

By David Chau

Good morning, and welcome to the ABC's finance blog — and what a morning it's been!

Starting with the Middle East, there has been a major escalation in US-Iran hostilities.

The US military confirmed that it has launched a series of strikes against Iran.

"US Central Command forces have begun launching a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping," a US military statement said.

It was unclear what specifically the US targeted, but Iranian media said six projectiles hit the area of Taheroui pier in Sirik in southern Iran.

Overnight, three commercial vessels were struck by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, attacks which the US has attributed to Iran.

Oil prices surge, US revokes Iran's partial sanctions relief

Iran also attacked a Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker while it was transiting near the Strait of Hormuz, according to Majed al Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"We demand that the Islamic Republic of Iran immediately cease all practices that undermine regional security or threaten the safety of international maritime navigation," Dr al Ansari said in post on X.

"We hold it fully legally responsible for this attack and for any resulting damages and consequences."

Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department has revoked a 60-day licence that had authorised the sale of Iranian oil.

Oil prices spiked as a result of this latest flare-up in Middle East tensions, with Brent crude futures surging 6.4% to $US76.56 per barrel.

That's an increase of $US4.56 per oil barrel in just a few hours!

Anyway, grab a coffee, tea, toast, or whatever you normally have in the morning, and I'll have more updates for you shortly!

- with reporting from Reuters