ASX climbs, banks jump; Binance freezes $3.5b in assets after suspected hack

The S&P/ASX 200 index gained 52.5 points, representing a 0.6 percent rise, during early trading on Friday. This upward movement followed a turbulent overnight session in global markets, driven largely by a sharp decline in shares of Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Simultaneously, major cryptocurrency exchange Binance froze billions of dollars in assets following a suspected hacking incident. The domestic market had previously closed higher by 0.5 percent on Thursday. In the United States, the benchmark stock index fell into negative territory due to the historic plunge in Alphabet shares. The technology giant reported slower growth figures for the summer period than financial analysts had anticipated. This performance raised concerns regarding the broader tech sector. Mining stocks presented a mixed picture in the Australian market. Rio Tinto shares dropped 2.6 percent after the company disclosed an incident at its Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia. A statement released on Friday indicated that a rockfall, triggered by a seismic event on Thursday, resulted in injuries to three workers. While Rio Tinto did not specify the operational status of the mine, reports from Bloomberg suggested that activities there had been suspended. Other miners showed varied results, with BHP rising slightly by 0.1 percent and Fortescue declining 0.7 percent. Gold-related equities weakened as the price of the metal retreated. Northern Star Resources fell 0.2 percent, and Evolution Mining dropped 0.6 percent. Banking stocks led the gains on the local board. Shares in Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank each increased by 0.8 percent. Similarly, Westpac Banking Corporation and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group both climbed 0.8 percent. In contrast, retail giant Coles suffered a severe downturn, with its shares plummeting 11.7 percent. The retailer announced that sales growth had decelerated in October, noting that customers were increasingly seeking better value. Coles also warned that elevated fuel costs would increase expenses and projected that first-half supermarket profits would remain flat compared to the previous period. Energy sector shares benefited from rising crude oil prices. Investors reacted to indications that the United States might resume military strikes against Iran, which poses risks to regional stability and energy supply chains. West Texas Intermediate crude approached 103 US dollars per barrel after fluctuating by more than three US dollars in the prior session. Brent crude settled near 115 US dollars. Reports indicated that a senior military commander briefed President Donald Trump on potential military options on Thursday. The president has signaled intent to potentially restart airstrikes against Tehran following the upcoming midterm elections. Consequently, Woodside Energy rose 2.2 percent, Santos gained 1.5 percent, Ampol advanced 0.9 percent, and Viva Energy increased 0.5 percent. Technology companies generally performed well, with WiseTech up 1.3 percent, Xero gaining 1.7 percent, Technology One rising 0.6 percent, and Codan adding 0.5 percent. However, data center operator NEXTDC declined 1.6 percent. The Australian currency weakened, dropping 0.3 percent to trade at 70.34 US cents. Attention turned sharply to the cryptocurrency sector as Binance, the world's largest digital asset exchange, halted all deposit and withdrawal functions. The platform stated it was investigating a security breach that led to the freezing of over 2.54 billion US dollars, equivalent to approximately 3.6 billion Australian dollars. The incident caused a rapid sell-off in digital tokens. Bitcoin dropped below 77,000 US dollars, marking its lowest point since September, while other cryptocurrencies also lost value. Binance issued a statement on social media asserting that it was working continuously to resolve the issue and would cover all resulting losses. The company explained that deposits and withdrawals were temporarily suspended as a precaution while its teams conducted security audits, froze affected funds, and coordinated with law enforcement agencies. Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, co-founded Binance and remains its largest shareholder despite no longer managing the firm. He acknowledged the possibility of a hack but expressed confidence that all user funds would be fully compensated. Unverified theories and loss estimates circulated widely on online forums regarding the nature of the attack. Blockchain analysis firm Arkham identified wallets linked to the suspected hacker containing roughly 5.9 billion US dollars in digital assets. However, the firm noted that this total does not necessarily reflect the specific amount stolen from Binance. The situation remains fluid as investigations continue.