Australia's unemployment rate rose to 4.7% in September, a multi-year high and above the 4.6% economists had forecast, while employment fell by almost 40,000. The data raises the chance that the RBA holds interest rates at its Melbourne Cup day meeting, with the cash rate at 4.6%, the highest in 15 years. RBA officials speak in the coming days, and NAB says the central bank may hold but the risk of a hike remains. On Wall Street, all three major indices closed sharply lower as AI-related tech stocks came under pressure and oil prices jumped; the S&P 500 fell 1.09% to 7,659.44 points and the Nasdaq dropped 2.15% to 26,140.03 points. In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 rose to 8,806.7 points.
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Related tickers and likely impact
AUD/USD
▼ Likely negativeRelevance: medium
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/16/2026 | 0.69462 |
| Change that session | +0.35% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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