Australian Shares Advance; Netwealth Group Posts Higher Fiscal H1 Adjusted Earnings, Total Income

Australian shares rose at market close on Wednesday, as oil prices rose on the hope that tensions between the US and Iran ease.

The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.54% or 48.10 points to close at 9,007.

Oil prices rose slightly after Iran's foreign minister said the country and the US reached an understanding on the main "guiding principles" in their negotiations.

The Australian government approved an average premium increase for health insurance customers of 4.41% starting April 1, moderately higher than the prior year's increase of 3.73%.

On the domestic front, Australia's seasonally adjusted wage price index rose 0.8% in the December 2025 quarter, unchanged from the September 2025 quarter, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. On an annual basis, wage growth was 3.4% in the December 2025 quarter, up from 3.3% in the previous quarter.

The six-month annualized growth rate in the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index slowed to 0.02% in January from 0.44% in December 2025, suggesting that the slightly-above-trend momentum through the second half of last year has faded early this year. The year is shaping up as another "on again, off again" year for the local economy, according to Westpac Head of Australian Macro-Forecasting Matthew Hassan.

In company news, Netwealth Group (ASX:NWL) reported fiscal first-half adjusted earnings of AU$0.281 per share, up from AU$0.234 a year earlier. Total income for the six months ended Dec. 31, 2025, was AU$193.8 million, compared with AU$155.4 million a year earlier. Shares of the company rose 14% at market close.

Superloop (ASX:SLC) reported fiscal first-half 2026 earnings of AU$0.0097 per share, swinging from a loss of AU$0.0157 a year earlier. Revenue for the six months ended Dec. 31 was AU$317.6 million, compared with AU$257.5 million a year earlier. Shares of the company soared 18% at market close.

Lastly, SGH (ASX:SGH), along with Nasdaq-listed metals firm Steel Dynamics, submitted a revised non-binding indicative offer to fully acquire BlueScope Steel (ASX:BSL) for AU$32.35 apiece, representing a total equity value of AU$15 billion. The offer is SGH and Steel Dynamics' best and final offer for BlueScope. Shares of SGH closed up 1%, while shares of BlueScope Steel were up 3%.