It’s been the strongest week of reporting season so far, with a flurry of big companies releasing their results. Sophia Mavridis sits down with Bell Financial Group’s CIO Will Riggall to unpack the biggest stories, market movers, and sector trends.

In this week’s video, Sophia and Will cover:

• macro factors affecting the market at the moment
• notable results including JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH), Bluescope Steel (ASX:BSL), and CommBank (ASX:CBA) and what they mean for the market
• BHP’s (ASX:BHP) results and a look at the broader resources sector
• the best and worst performing stocks of the week
• stocks to watch out for next week.

Starting in the US this morning, where Wall St saw a positive day lead by a rally in the technology sector. Megacap Nvidia lead the way with a 2% gain, after Meta announced that they would be expanding their deal to use millions of Nvidia AI chips in their data centre buildout. At the close of the day’s trade, the S&P500 advanced 0.6%, the Dow Jones added 0.3%, while the tech heavy Nasdaq saw the biggest gains with a 0.8% jump.

What to watch today:

• Locally today, the ASX is expected to follow Wall St and add to its winning streak of late, with the SPI futures pointing to a 0.5% climb at the open of trade.
• As for reporting season, it’s a busy day today with a stack of notable companies releasing results. Australia’s largest Telco Telstra (ASX:TLS) this morning announced a 9% increase in net profit to $1.1 billion, as its revenue remained flat however expenditure had declined. It will pay an interim dividend of 10.5 cents per share, up from 9.5 cents last year.
• Although not released at time of recording, keep an eye on a number of big results to come out throughout this morning, including Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), Wesfarmers (ASX:WES), Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC), Downer (ASX:DOW) , among many more.
• So far this reporting season, we’ve seen 83 companies release their results, with 31 beating expectations, 32 in line with expectations and 20 missing expectations.
• Following their results yesterday, Bell Potter have upgraded their rating on TechnologyOne from a Hold to a buy, with a 12-month price target of $29 per share after the company reported their guidance for FY26.
• And finally ending on commodities news, crude oil prices have jumped 4 and a half percent to US$65 per barrel as investors reacted to talks in both the US – Iran tensions and Russia – Ukraine conflict ending without clear breakthroughs. The geopolitical uncertainty has also affected precious metals prices, with gold rebounding 2% to just under US$5000 per ounce, while silver has jumped 5% to US$77 per ounce.

Starting off overseas, it was a relatively quiet day for Wall St on its reopen from Monday’s public holiday, as all 3 of the major indexes advanced 0.1%.

What to watch today:

• Looking now at today, the ASX is set to extend on yesterday’s gains with the SPI futures indicating a 0.5% jump at the open of trade today.
• Pivoting to a reporting season update, NAB (ASX:NAB) reported a 30% jump in net profit to $2.21 billion, and a 16% jump in cash earnings to $2.02 billion for the quarter to December.
• Queensland based insurer Suncorp (ASX:SUN) saw a massive reduction in profit after a period of increased natural hazard events. November’s hailstorm in particular was costly, as claims drove Suncorp $453 million over allowance for natural disasters. Their cash earnings of $270 million represented around a third of last years, while the dividend has been cut from 63c per share to 17c per share.
• And look out for other companies reporting today, including Dexus (ASX:DXS), Santos (ASX:STO) and TechnologyOne (ASX:TNE).
• So far this reporting season, 69 companies have released their results, with 26 beating expectations, 26 in line with expectations, and 17 missing expectations.
• Bell Potter’s research team have maintained their buy rating on diversified industrial services group SRG Global (ASX:SRG), and increased their 12-month price target from $3 per share to $3.15 per share off the back of solid results released yesterday and an upgrade in guidance.
• And in commodities,
  • Crude oil is trading down a further 1% to US$62.25 per barrel, after it was announced that the US and Iran had reached a ‘general agreement’ on a potential nuclear deal that would pave the way towards a lift in sanctions on Iran, and reduced risk of war in the region.
  • In precious metals both gold and silver are trading down over 2%, with gold falling to US$4882 per ounce, and silver down to US$73.50 per ounce. The decline can be attributed to a number of factors, including a strengthening US dollar, reduced market liquidity due to the public holidays, and geopolitical developments reducing safe haven demand.

Not much to report overseas from overnight, as Wall St was closed for the President’s Day public holiday.

What to watch today:

• Jumping straight into today’s news, the ASX200 is set to jump 0.2% at the open to extend on yesterday’s gains.
• Today’s major story is the results of mining giant BHP (ASX:BHP), which reported a 25% jump in underlying EBITDA to US$15.5 billion, a net operating cash flow of US$9.4 billion, which is up 13%, and a dividend of 73 US cents per share, which is up from 50 US cents this time last year.
• Additionally, funds manager Challenger Ltd (ASX:CGF) reported their results, with statutory net profit up $72 million to $339 million, and a fully franked dividend of 15.5 cents per share, which is up 7%. They also announced an on-market share buyback of $150 million.
• Keep an eye on other notable companies who are due to release today, including Seek (ASX:SEK), Judo Capital (ASX:JDO) and Reliance Worldwide (ASX:RWC).
• So far this reporting season, 53 companies have reported their results, with 18 beating expectations, 21 in line with expectations, and 14 misses.
• After their results yesterday, Bell Potter’s research team have maintained their Hold rating on the a2 Milk Company (ASX:A2M), however reduced their 12 month target price from $9.70 to $9.55 per share, based on their key guidance figures heading into the next year.
• They also maintain a hold rating on shipbuilder and defence contractor Austal (ASX:ASB), with a 12 month price target of $6.60 per share, which is down from their previous price target of $8 per share. This comes after its EBIT guidance was downgraded 18.5%, due to the discovery of accidental double counting of US$17.1 million of incentives during the preparation of its latest accounts.
• Finally in commodities, Gold is trading down just over 1% at US$4990 per ounce, while silver has dropped 1.8% to $76.50 US$ per ounce. Crude Oil is up 1.4%, to US$63.80 per barrel.

US equities closed mixed on Friday following the release of the inflation report which came in just slightly lower than the market was expecting. US CPI rose 0.2% in January, reflecting a gain of 2.4% on an annualised basis, while a 0.3% MoM gain was expected.

The S&P500 rose just above the flat light, up 0.05%, the Dow Jones flat, just 0.1% higher, while the Nasdaq declined 0.22%.

What to watch today:

Locally, the ASX200 is set to gain 0.58% at the open this morning, ahead of the release of key earnings results from big names reporting today:

• JB Hi Fi (ASX:JBH) has just released their half year results this morning, with total sales and NPAT both up more than 7%, EPS increased by 19cps to 279.7cps from HY25 and an interim dividend of 210cps, up 23.5%, representing 75% of NPAT. Bell Potter currently have a Buy rating on JBH.
• The a2 Milk Company (ASX:A2M) posted a 18.8% rise in revenue and lifted FY26 guidance, as well as an interim dividend of 11.5cps fully franked. It’s share price will be on watch today.
• Ansell (ASX:ANN), Aurizon Holdings (ASX:AZJ), BlueScope Steel (ASX:BSL) and New Hope Corporation (ASX:NHC) are also set to report today.

As for what Bell Potter are looking at today:

• Following Nick Scali (ASX:NCK)‘s first half NPAT up 11% above expectations, Bell Potter maintain a Buy rating, however have lowered their price target by 11% to $25.00 due to softer growth into the second half, earnings revisions and the rising interest rate environment.
• And one to watch in the resources sector following the release of first half earnings is Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST). Bell Potter maintain a Buy rating and have increased their 12-month price target from $31.10 to $35.00. At the current share price of $28.37 this implies 23.4% share price growth in a year.

In commodities:

• Crude oil is up to US$62.89 per barrel, with a second straight weekly decline, amid persistent oversupply concerns. The International Energy Agency reiterated that the market is likely to face a surplus of just over 3.7 million barrels per day in 2026.
• The price of gold is up almost 2.5% to US$5,043.92 per tonne, as softer-than-expected US inflation eased pressure on Treasury yields and weighed on the dollar.
• Iron ore is down to US$99.66 and over the past month, Iron Ore's price has fallen 7.45%. So keep watch of iron ore miners this week as BHP Group (ASX:BHP) reports tomorrow.
• To end, AUD$1.00 is currently buying US$0.70.

As reporting season reshapes the market landscape this week, Sophia Mavridis sits down with Bell Financial Group’s Chief Investment Officer Will Riggall to unpack the biggest results, emerging trends, and preview of what’s to come.

In this week’s video, Sophia and Will cover:

• the impact of AI on global markets, especially in the tech sector
• Commonwealth Bank’s (ASX:CBA) results and the financial sector rally
• a look ahead to next week, including a preview of Treasury Wines (ASX:TWE), and JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH).

Note: This interview was filmed on 13 February 2026.

Overseas, Wall St traded slightly down overnight despite the much-anticipated jobs data coming in better than expected. Economists polled by Dow Jones had forecasted a gain of 55,000 jobs, and an unemployment rate of 4.4%, however the data revealed a gain of 130,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 4.3%. However, the beat failed to move the markets, as the Dow Jones ended the day down as the Dow Jones and Nasdaq both slipped 0.1%, while the S&P500 ended the day flat.

What to watch today:

• Heading into today’s trading session, the ASX is expected to follow Wall St’s wavering session, with the SPI futures pointing to a 0.02% drop at the open
• Another busy day of results ahead as Reporting Season continues, look out for AMP (ASX:AMP), Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) and Northern Star (ASX:NST) releases, which are all due this morning. You can find all results once released at Bell Direct’s reporting season page
• So far this reporting season, 17 companies have released their results, with 3 beating expectations, 9 in line with expectations, and 5 misses
• Following their results yesterday, Bell Potter’s research team have maintained their hold rating on CSL (ASX:CSL), however cut their 12-month price target from $195 per share to $175 per share, after updating their Adjusted NPAT and revenue growth guidance off the back of underwhelming results.
• Bell Potter have also upgraded their rating on SGH (ASX:SGH) from a Hold to a Buy, with a 12-month price target of $56 per share. This comes after the company reported results that beat guidance, sparking a more optimistic medium term outlook.
• And in commodities, Crude Oil is trading up 1.6% at US$65 per barrel, Gold also jumped overnight 1.4% to just under US$5100 per ounce, while silver remains the most volatile, trading up 4.7% at US$84.50 per ounce

Starting over in the US, Wall Street saw a mixed trading session overnight, as the S&P500 and Nasdaq slipped 0.2% and 0.6% respectively, while the Dow Jones added 0.1%, at one point in the day trading at its 3rd all time high in the last 3 days. The market was weighed down by financial stocks, which took a hit after tech platform Altruist officially launched their new AI-powered tax planning tool. Investors are likely to rotate to areas which are most protected from being impacted by the emerging prevalence of AI.

What to watch today

• The ASX200 is expected to rise at the open today, with the SPI futures indicating an increase of 0.3%
• A big morning in reporting season as Australia’s biggest bank Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) announced their cash profit has increased 5% to $5.4 billion in the half year ending 31 December, and that they will pay a dividend of $2.35 per share.
• Although not released at the time of recording, keep an eye on other major results including AGL Energy (ASX:AGL), Evolution Mining, and James Hardie Industries (ASX:JHX), which are all due to be released this morning. You can stay up to date with results as they come out via Bell Direct’s reporting season page
• Pharmaceutical giant CSL (ASX:CSL) also announced their results, reporting total revenue down 4% to $8.3 billion, Adjusted Net profit after tax of $1.9b, which is a 7% drop, and a reported NPA of $0.4 billion, which represents an 81% drop from last results. These results come in a day after it was announced that they would be dumping chief executive Paul McKenzie, extending the volatile period for the blue chip stock.
• In Bell Potter’s latest research, the broker has maintained its Buy rating, however lowered the 12-month target price on WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) from $100 per share to $87.50, citing the fact that the stock is currently trading on its lowest EBITDA multiple since its IPO nearly 10 years ago.
• And in commodities, Gold has slipped 0.7% to be trading a shade over US$5000 per ounce, while silver has dropped 3.2% to 80 USD ounce. Crude Oil has remained flat at US$64.17 per barrel.