Live: Australia's debt hits $1 trillion as US debt passes $US40 trillion threshold

The Australian share market is set to open higher in morning trading after a mixed result on Wall Street.

Meanwhile, the price of gold has surged above 4 per cent.

Follow the day's financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters on our live blog.

Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.

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Thu 20 Aug 2026 at 7:32amThu 20 Aug 2026 at 7:32am

Market snapshot

By Adelaide Miller

• ASX 200 Futures: +0.3% to 9,032 points 
  
• Australian dollar: +0.6% to 71.23 US cents 
  
• Wall Street: Dow Jones: (+0.2%), S&P 500 (+0.2%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.2%) 
• Europe: FTSE (+0.1%), DAX (-0.1%), Stoxx 600 (-0.1%)
• Spot gold: +4.3% to $US4,521/ounce 
• Oil (Brent crude): +0.5% to $US91.49/barrel 
• Iron ore: -0.2% to $US96.05/tonne
• Bitcoin: -0.1% to $US69,036

Prices current around 7:00am AEST

Live updates on the major ASX indices:

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Thu 20 Aug 2026 at 7:45amThu 20 Aug 2026 at 7:45am

ASX to open in the green

By Adelaide Miller

Good morning everyone and happy Thursday,

Business reporter Adelaide Miller here to guide you through the morning on the markets blog, where we cover the latest finance, economics and business stories across Australia and around the world.

To start with, it looks like the Aussie share market will open in the green, with Futures pointing up +0.3% to 9,032 points.

The Aussie dollar is also strong this morning, trading above 71 US cents as of 7:15am.

Wall Street closed with mixed results, I will provide a breakdown shortly.

But for now, grab yourself a coffee, tea or juice and see you back here soon!