Paige McNamee

Good morning. Here’s what happened overnight and what you need to know today. 1. Tech shield: US stock indices rose to new record highs closing their best month since the pandemic, with the S&P 500 up 13.6% in April and the Nasdaq 19.7%, even as Brent crude briefly surged to USD126.41 overnight on fears the Iran war could escalate further. Alphabet shares rose 10.2% after Google Cloud revenue surged to a record of more than USD20 billion.

Make us a preferred source Make us a preferred source on Google 12:36am on 1 May 2026 The news: Cotality’s national home value index lifted 0.3% in April, marking the gauge’s slowest pace of growth since early 2025, as Sydney and Melbourne home prices dragged down the national result. The numbers: Values in Sydney and Melbourne fell 0.6% during the month, with Sydney home values now 1% below their November peak.

Make us a preferred source Make us a preferred source on Google 12:13am on 1 May 2026 The news: The US economy grew at an annualised rate of 2% during the first three months of the year, coming in below expectations after the extended US government shutdown dampened growth in the tail-end of 2025.