ASX Opens Higher, Challenger Surges on Takeover Offer

The Australian share market has opened higher, with the ASX 200 up 0.3% to 8,834 points at 10:15am AEDT. The Australian dollar is also up, trading at 69.44 US cents.

Market Movements

In early trade, oil prices have eased, with Brent crude down about 1% to $US108.81/barrel and the US WTI crude benchmark down 0.4% to $101.00/barrel. Iron ore prices rose 1.5% to $US91.20/tonne on Friday, while copper prices are up 0.5% to $US14,498/tonne.

Company News

Wealth manager Challenger has jumped 15% this morning following news that it has received a takeover offer from Japan's Daiichi Life, which values the company at almost $8 billion. At 10:15am AEDT, Challenger shares were trading at $11.41/share, still short of the $11.80/share offer from Daiichi.

"The Board of Challenger is considering the indicative offer," the statement added.

Separately, in an earnings update, Challenger reported a 5% rise in its assets under management to $31.9 billion for the first quarter of FY 2027, citing strong sales momentum across both domestic and offshore annuities.

Energy Sector

Ampol has announced a doubling in refining margins in its Q3 earnings update. Ampol said margins at its Brisbane-based refinery at Lytton more than doubled to $US23.92/barrel over the quarter — a 125% increase compared with the third quarter last year.

"refining performance continued to benefit from elevated regional refining margins, partially offset by higher landed crude premiums"

"These conditions continue to be net favourable for Ampol's integrated supply chain, noting that the unique trading environment that supported the first half has not recurred," Ampol said.

Banking Sector

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has posted a lower (unaudited) Q1 net profit of $66 million, down 8.6% from its quarterly average for the second half of FY26. However, on a cash-earnings basis, the bank's preferred measure that strips out on-off gains and losses, Bendigo reported an 18.5% lift to $112.7 million over the quarter.

"to temporarily higher liquid assets, higher wholesale funding and an adverse change in deposit mix."

Global Market Trends

Oil producers are reaping the benefits of soaring prices, with quarterly reports from global oil giants pointing to an extremely profitable past three months. US giant ExxonMobil signalled higher refining margins during the third quarter could boost its downstream profit by $US4.5 billion compared with the previous three months.