Australia stocks lose $91 billion in a week as Mideast war weighs after wild earnings season

try{ var _=i o; . if(!_||_&&typeof _==="object"&&_.expiry Oil prices dip after 5-day winning streak; set for weekly surge on Iran conflict Trump replaces Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem Wall Street ends lower on escalating Iran conflict, report of AI export curbs Trump says he must be involved in selecting Iran’s next leader (South Africa Philippines Nigeria) Australia stocks lose $91 billion in a week as Mideast war weighs after wild earnings season By Stock Markets Published 03/06/2026, 01:19 AM Updated 03/06/2026, 01:24 AM Australia stocks lose $91 billion in a week as Mideast war weighs after wild earnings season 0 AXJO -1.00% BHP -4.24% CSL -0.15% CBA -0.11% COL -0.56% By Sneha Kumar and Shivangi Lahiri March 6 - Some A$130 billion ($91.4 billion) in market value has been wiped from Australia’s share market this week, with investors on edge amid a widening Middle East conflict, hot on the heels of record earnings season volatility. The S&P/ASX 200 index has slumped 3.8% since the weekend - when the United States and Israel began bombarding Iran - giving up about half of its gains for all of February. The benchmark slid 1% on Friday with most blue-chip stocks in the red. "Global downturns always hit Australia harder than other jurisdictions, and I think we could see a real downturn if the war goes on for too long," said Nick Twidale, chief market strategist at ATFX Global. "Australia has got more topside to come once the conflict is resolved. But unfortunately, at the moment, it seems to be rolling on." Stock markets worldwide are careening towards their worst weekly losses in three years, with bonds also tumbling sharply as investors worry about rising oil prices stoking inflation. "A prolonged war would be a negative for asset prices globally, and Australia won’t be immune from that," said Phil Cornet, a portfolio manager at Atlas Funds Management. This week’s sell-off comes hard on the back of Australia’s half-year earnings season, which was punctuated by...