GLOBAL BRIEFING: BHP lifts dividend by 56% after strong financial year

18. Aug 2026

(AWP Alliance News) - Calls for equities in Europe are mixed and oil prices push past USD91 per barrel as the US says Hamas disarmament could begin within 30 days.

Here is what you need to know before the European market open on Tuesday:

----------

MARKETS

----------

CAC 40: called down 28.3 points, 0.3%, at 8,551.30

DAX 40: called down 130.7 points, 0.5%, at 26,207.91

FTSE 100: called up 2.0 points, broadly flat, at 10,722.30

----------

Hang Seng: down 0.7% at 25,287.25

Nikkei 225: down 1.6% at 68,090.39

S&P/ASX 200: up marginally at 9,077.20

----------

DJIA: closed down 272.63 points, 0.5%, at 53,459.78

S&P 500: closed down 40.70 points, 0.5%, at 7,745.06

Nasdaq Composite: closed down 84.25 points, 0.3%, at 26,644.91

----------

US 10-year Treasury yield: 4.74% (4.71%)

US 30-year Treasury yield: 5.32% (5.29%)

----------

EUR: lower at USD1.1571 (USD1.1586)

GBP: lower at USD1.3532 (USD1.3557)

USD: higher at JPY159.71 (JPY159.34)

GOLD: higher at USD4,392.06 per ounce (USD4,388.17)

OIL (Brent): higher at USD91.49 a barrel (USD87.94)

(changes since previous London equities close)

----------

ECONOMIC CALENDAR

----------

08:15 EDT Canada housing starts

11:00 CEST eurozone ZEW economic sentiment survey

11:00 CEST Germany ZEW economic sentiment survey

11:00 IST Ireland trade balance

10:00 CEST Spain trade balance

08:30 CEST Switzerland industrial production

07:00 BST UK unemployment

07:00 BST UK average earnings

07:00 BST UK employment change

08:00 BST UK Worldpanel UK grocery market share data

08:30 EDT US building permits

08:30 EDT US export and import prices

08:55 EDT US Redbook index

09:15 EDT US industrial production

----------

TOP ECONOMIC NEWS

----------

US President Donald Trump said that Kim Jong Un had responded to his recent overtures, a day after he scaled back military drills with South Korea and praised his relationship with the North Korean leader. Trump said he was making the situation "much safer" through his ties to Kim, whom he met three times in his first spell in the White House but has yet to encounter during his second term. South Korean officials said the exercises had begun as planned and that they hoped the personal chemistry between Trump and Kim would bring them back to talks. Seoul's presidential office said the drills did not reflect "any intention to attack North Korea or escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula." President Lee Jae Myung reiterated that their fundamental purpose is "not to treat a specific entity as an adversary, but to safeguard the safe and peaceful daily lives of the people," his office added.

----------

Trump's envoy Jared Kushner said that progress towards disarming Hamas and moving forward with a Gaza peace plan could begin within a month, after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "We could be seeing progress...in as little as 30 days, hopefully starting to take some of the weapons out, and hopefully, you know, filling in some of the tunnels as well," Kushner told Fox News while in Tel Aviv. The comments came as Kushner and Netanyahu agreed that an American general would verify Hamas's disarmament, an Israeli official said, as the premier insisted there would be no Israeli pullout from Gaza until then.

----------

Canadian officials announced plans to massively enhance wind and hydropower generation in the eastern part of the country, in a project Ottawa called "the largest clean energy investment in North American history." The tentative agreement between Prime Minister Mark Carney's government, the province of Quebec as well as Newfoundland and Labrador marks a major effort to increase electricity production. It includes plans to upgrade the Churchill Falls generating station while developing a new hydro project on Gull Island. Both sites are in Labrador, on Canada's Atlantic coast.

----------

Consumer sentiment in Australia improved in August but remained firmly in pessimistic territory, survey data showed. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index rose 6.0% to 88.9 points in August from 83.9 in July, remaining below the 100-point neutral mark separating optimism and pessimism. According to Westpac, August's gain was concentrated on people with mortgages responding to the Reserve Bank of Australia's latest decision to hold interest rates.

----------

COMPANY CALENDAR

----------

Baidu Inc - half year results

Home Depot Inc - half year results

Microchip Technology Inc - AGM

Syncona Ltd - AGM

----------

TOP COMPANY NEWS

----------

Alphabet's Google has bought a vast trove of data from bankrupt US budget airline Spirit Airlines for USD10 million to help train artificial intelligence systems, according to documents filed in the airline's bankruptcy proceedings. The package, acquired in an auction, includes about 100 million emails and 500 million conversations on Microsoft Corp's Teams messaging platform, as well as software and pricing data. Google said all personally identifiable information would be removed by a third party before the data was handed over. The dataset could "be helpful in improving our products and AI models," Google said in a statement quoted by US media outlets including Axios.

----------

BHP reported stronger annual earnings, lifted by higher prices and record output across key commodities. The Melbourne, Australia-based diversified miner said attributable profit rose 9.0% to USD9.83 billion in the financial year ended June 30 from USD9.02 billion a year prior. Basic earnings per share increased 8.9% to 193.6 US cents from 177.8 cents. Underlying attributable profit jumped 30% to USD13.20 billion from USD10.16 billion with underlying basic EPS growing to 260.0 US cents from 200.2 cents. Revenue climbed 15% to USD58.76 billion from USD51.26 billion. BHP lifted its total dividend by 56% to 172 US cents per share from 110 cents previously.

----------

CSL swung to a loss in financial year 2026, after booking large impairments, even as underlying operations continued to grow. The Melbourne-based biotechnology company swung to a net loss after tax of USD2.99 billion in the twelve months to June 30 from USD3.14 profit a year earlier. Net loss per share was USD5.35 compared to USD6.20 earnings per share in financial 2025. Total revenue increases 1.5% to USD15.80 billion from USD15.56 billion

----------

Chugai Pharmaceutical announced it has signed an exclusive global license agreement with London-based pharmaceuticals maker GSK. The Tokyo-headquarterd pharmaceutical company said the agreement grants GSK rights to develop, manufacture and potentially commercialise AID351, an anti-dengue virus antibody. Under the deal, GSK will lead clinical development, including phase one trials, while Chugai becomes eligible for royalties and a share of any future sublicensing income.

----------

Paramount Skydance is demanding California and other US states suing to block its merger with Warner Bros put up USD1.9 billion to cover fees the company will have to pay if the deal gets delayed, according to a lawsuit filed. The audacious bid is the latest step in an increasingly high-stakes row pitting the media giant against a coalition of liberal states who say the attempt to swallow a historic studio will be bad for filmmakers and bad for moviegoers. Monday's filing reflects the pressure on Paramount, with a USD7 million-a-day "ticking fee" due to kick in for Warner Bros shareholders if the takeover is not complete by October 1. The suit is an attempt to insulate Paramount from those costs, which it says will only accrue because of the ongoing legal action.

----------

Cochlear reported revenue fell 0.5% to AUD2.34 billion or USD1.66 billion in the twelve months to June 30 from AUD2.36 billion the year before. The Sydney-based medical device company said underlying net profit for the year fell 22% to AUD322.4 million from AUD414.5 million the year before. Statutory net profit sank 62% to AUD147.3 million from AUD388.9 million. Dividends for the full year fell 20% to AUD3.45 per share from AUD4.30.

----------

HUB24 delivered a stronger performance in financial year 2026, supported by continued momentum across its key businesses. The Sydney-based financial services and wealth-technology company said statutory net profit after tax jumped 51% to AUD120.2 million in the twelve months to June 30, from AUD79.5 million in 2025. Underlying NPAT surged 40% to AUD137.3 million from AUD97.8 million, with underlying diluted earnings per share up 40% to 166.7 Australian cents from 117.8 cents. Revenue soared 23% to AUD501.1 million from AUD406.6 million.

----------

Challenger lifted its annual dividend after a strong finish to financial year 2026. The Sydney-based investment management and retirement income company said net income rose 1.8% to AUD995.3 million in the year ended June 30 from AUD977.7 million a year prior. Normalised net profit after tax increased 2.7% to AUD467.6 million from AUD455.5 million, with normalised basic earnings per share of 68.1 Australian cents, up from 66.3 cents previously. Statutory NPAT more than doubled to AUD505.6 million from AUD192.3, with statutory basic EPS of 73.6 cents from 28.0 cents. Challenger declared a final dividend of 16.0 Australian cents per share, lifting the full-year dividend by 6.8% to 31.5 Australian cents per share from 29.5 cents in 2025. The company also announced an additional AUD300 million on-market share buyback programme to its existing AUD150 million buyback announced in February.

----------

Reliance Worldwide reported sharply lower annual profit as it announced it had entered a process deed with Brookfield Capital to progress the private equity firm's latest takeover proposal. The Brisbane, Australia-based global manufacturer of water-flow, control and plumbing solutions said reported net profit after tax dropped 94% to USD6.3 million in the twelve months to June 30 from USD125.0 million. This year's profit was impacted by USD103.3 million post-tax item relating to manufacturing footprint rationalisation in Australia. RWC also announced it had entered into a process deed with Toronto, Canada-based private equity arm Brookfield Capital after receiving a series of unsolicited indicative proposals, allowing Brookfield to advance its latest offer. The revised bid valued RWC at AUD4.75 per share, implying an enterprise value of about AUD4.1 billion and representing premiums across recent trading benchmarks.

----------

Deterra Royalties posted solid annual financial performance as it delivered record sales and production. The Perth, Australia-based diversified resource royalty company said statutory net profit after tax rose 5.5% to AUD164.2 million in the year to June 30 from AUD155.7 million a year prior. Basic earnings per share increased to 31.03 Australian cents from 29.44 cents. Revenue from continuing operations grew 6.4% to AUD236.2 million from AUD222.0 million. Deterra declared full-year dividend of 23.20 Australian cents per share, up 5.5% from 22.0 cents a year ago.

----------

By Judy Amaca, Alliance News reporter Asia Pacific

Comments and questions to newsroom [at] alliancenews.com