SBS On the Money

Ongoing hopes of a US-Iran deal to re-open the Strait of Hormuz have sent the ASX to a second consecutive closing high. The S&P/ASX 200 added 43.8 points, or 0.5%, for a close of 9271.6. Rena Sarumpaet spoke to Hugh Lam, Investment Strategist at Betashares, on a corporate reporting season just heating up, and broader market gains.

The Australian sharemarket has closed at a new record high, amid hopes for an imminent re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Rena Sarumpaet spoke to Jun Bei Liu, founder and portfolio manager of Ten Cap Investment Management. She'd had a close eye especially on US corporate reports - none more fascinating than Elon Musk's Spacex, which reported its first quarterly earnings as a public company. Overall, it saw a half a billion US dollar loss, around half that of the same period last year. But revenue nearly doubled to nearly US $8 billion - although the big price tag for growth was capital expenditure - jumping fivefold to US$ 18 Billion.

Researchers at Domain say the profit boom of the past decade is starting to show early signs of weakness. Stephanie Youssef spoke to Domain's Chief of Economics and Reserch, Nicola Powell. Meanwhile, the ASX closed at its highest level since March, surging 1.4%, after a healthy rally on Wall Street. US President Donald Trump's comments - that negotiations to end the Iran war and open the Strait of Hormuz had resumed - triggered a heavy bout of risk-on sentiment. Clive Maguchu, senior strategist with State Street Investment Management, spoke to Rena Sarumpaet.

Australia's property downturn is accelerating - and widening - as higher interest rates and unease over tax changes continue to impact buyer activity. The latest data from Cotality shows national property prices fell 0.7 per cent in July. For more, Jasmine Kassis spoke with Cotality Head of Research Gerard Burg. Also, the Australian share market reversed earlier losses to finish higher, helped by oil prices falling more than five per cent as Donald Trump called off planned strikes on Iran. For more, Rena Sarumpaet spoke with Sarto Advisory analyst David Walsh.

Anthropic has become the second major AI company to reveal one of its AI models hacked into other firms during security testing. For more, Stephanie Youssef spoke with Germaine Tan Shu Ting, Security and AI VP at DarkTrace. Microsoft shares soared to their best day in 18 years, as second quarter results beat expectations. For more, Rena Sarumpaet spoke with Morningstar equity market strategist Lochlan Halloway.