Markets Price In Rate Hike as Household Budgets Buckle Under Crushing Squeeze

Oil prices just took a nosedive, and the ASX loved it. Brent crude plunged 7.4% to below US$90 a barrel after the US and Iran both paused retaliatory strikes, sending the S&P/ASX 200 jumping 1% to 8,856 points. Tech stocks led the charge with Xero surging 5.6% and gold miners riding a 1.5% rally in the yellow metal to US$4,113/oz. For a market that's been on edge about Middle East energy chaos, this ceasefire pause is the breather traders desperately...