The S&P/ASX 200 fell 83.4 points to 9063.4 by midday, as gold prices at 13-month lows weighed on the materials sector. Cochlear kept its 2027 guidance unchanged but announced the departure of its North America president.

Mining stocks have dragged the ASX lower after oil prices ticked higher on fading hopes of a timely de-escalation of conflict in the Middle East.

Asia-Pacific shares are up, defying the weakness on Wall Street, with Japan's Nikkei climbing while a stronger US dollar has hit gold hard.

Toyota has issued an urgent recall for thousands of newly-released vehicles sold across Australia over safety concerns.

Firmus Technologies, a former bitcoin miner now building AI-focused data centres, is seeking a $7 billion IPO on the ASX that would value the company at $44 billion. Bankers have struggled to line up buyers at the targeted $11 per share and are looking at cutting the price to around $8.25 to keep the float alive, according to The Australian and The Australian Financial Review. Maas Group, which owns 3.2% of Firmus, sank more than 20% on Thursday.

U.S. stock futures were little changed in early Wednesday trading as tech shares rebounded, though gains were capped by inflation worries tied to higher energy prices and expectations for further rate hikes. AI lab Anthropic drew attention with plans to seek an IPO valuation of more than $US2 trillion. Markets are also watching a slate of Federal Reserve speakers, with traders pricing a 70 per cent chance of another rate increase in October. Separately, AstraZeneca said it will invest $2 billion in a biopharma company and partner on cancer-treatment studies.

Telstra reported full-year profit of $2.4bn, up 2.7% from a year earlier, but its shares fell 3.2% to $4.84 after the results disappointed the market. Mobile revenue rose 3.2% to $11.37bn and accounted for 44% of total income. Other telecom stocks also weakened, with TPG Telecom down 0.28% and Superloop down 3.11%. The declines helped push the ASX 200 down 0.23% at the close.

BHP workers in the Pilbara region of Western Australia plan a new round of strikes over a pay dispute, including a 24-hour shiploading stoppage on August 8 and a full work stoppage from 5:30am on August 9. It is the second strike in two months. Each 24-hour stoppage is expected to cost BHP about $120m in lost revenue and the Western Australian government about $6.85m in lost royalty payments. The action is set to disrupt global iron ore supply chains, particularly key export channels.

Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East escalated sharply after Houthi forces attacked oil tankers in the Red Sea and Iran moved closer to blocking the Strait of Hormuz, pushing Brent crude up 7% in a day and nearly 40% for the month, back above $100 a barrel. The ceasefire broke down completely as the US and Iran launched strikes against each other. Asian equities sold off broadly, with Japan’s Nikkei down 2.9% and South Korea’s KOSPI falling 3.7%. US Treasury yields jumped to multi-year highs as markets priced in a possible Federal Reserve rate hike as soon as next week.