ASX closes higher as US jobs data cools inflation fears
Australian shares edged up while US markets gained on a weaker-than-expected jobs report.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
ASX closes higher as US jobs data cools inflation fears
Photograph: ABC Australia (embedded from source)
What this story says
- The ASX 200 closed 0.1% higher at 8,686 points, with miners and healthcare stocks leading gains.
- US stock markets recorded gains on Friday, with the S&P 500 up 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite up 1.2%.
- US employers added 29,000 jobs last month, a significant slowdown from August's 133,000 hires, easing inflation concerns.
- Biotech giant CSL gained 0.9% after announcing a deal with Alentis Therapeutics.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 7 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
61/100
Hype
21/100
7 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
Only 1 of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
The Australian Securities Exchange 200 index closed marginally higher, gaining 0.1% to finish at 8,686 points. The session saw gains led by the healthcare and materials sectors, with biotech firm CSL adding 0.9% following an announcement of a development deal with Swiss company Alentis Therapeutics. Mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto also saw increases of 1.11% and 0.7% respectively. The Australian dollar was trading at US69.37¢.
On Wall Street, major indices closed higher on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1.2%. These gains followed the release of US employment figures which showed that employers added 29,000 jobs last month. This figure represents a slowdown from August's net hiring rate of 133,000 and has been interpreted as easing concerns that a strong US economy could fuel inflation.
Disagreement on market close
WA Today reported that the S&P/ASX200 ended Monday 3.5 points higher, up 0.04 per cent to 8685.6. In contrast, ABC Australia stated the ASX 200 closed marginally higher, with a gain of 0.1%.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated or centre-rated reports mentioned the specific figure of US$2 billion that CSL could spend on its deal with Alentis Therapeutics, as stated in ABC Australia's full report.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 2 times, most recently on 5 Oct 2026, 09:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
4 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports from ABC Australia, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and Brisbane Times highlighted the gains on Wall Street, driven by a US jobs report that cooled inflation worries. ABC Australia, in its full report, detailed the ASX 200's performance, noting its marginal rise to 8,686 points, supported by miners and healthcare stocks. It mentioned CSL's gain of 0.9% and specific increases for BHP and Rio Tinto. The digests from Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and Brisbane Times focused on the ASX trading flat after a stronger US dollar weighed on commodity prices, scuppering an early rally. Brisbane Times' digest specifically noted Wall Street indexes climbing near all-time highs as the US job market update eased concerns about inflation.
Centre
1 rated outlet
- The centre-rated report from WA Today focused on the ASX 200 ending flat, up 0.04 per cent to 8685.6, after a stronger US dollar impacted commodity prices. It detailed gains in mining stocks BHP and Rio Tinto, and CSL's 0.94% rise following its deal with Alentis Therapeutics. The report also contrasted Australian technology stock falls with Wall Street's performance, where Nvidia's rise lifted the S&P 500. It explained that the US jobs report, showing 29,000 new hires, was fewer than expected and a slowdown from August, which helped temper concerns about inflation and potential Federal Reserve rate rises.
Right
1 rated outlet
We have not written our reading of the right coverage of this story. The right-rated outlets that ran it are listed below.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover ASX closes higher as US jobs data cools inflation fears?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 67% are rated left, 16% are rated centre, 17% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 7. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is ASX closes higher as US jobs data cools inflation fears left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of ASX closes higher as US jobs data cools inflation fears biased?
- ASX closes higher as US jobs data cools inflation fears is one event reported by 7 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting ASX closes higher as US jobs data cools inflation fears?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered ASX closes higher as US jobs data cools inflation fears?
- 7 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How did the Australian stock market perform?
- The ASX 200 index closed marginally higher, gaining 0.1% to finish at 8,686 points. Gains were led by the healthcare and materials sectors.
- What caused the US stock market to rise?
- US stock markets rose on Friday after the release of employment figures showing slower job growth than expected. This eased concerns that a strong economy might lead to higher inflation.
- Which companies saw notable gains?
- Biotech giant CSL gained 0.9% after announcing a development deal with Swiss company Alentis Therapeutics. Mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto also recorded increases.
Read it at the source
7 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
4- Wall Street closes higher after disappointing jobs report, ASX set to gain (opens ABC Australia in a new tab)
ABC Australia — is ABC Australia biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ASX set to rise, Wall Street climbs as jobs report eases worries about inflation (opens Brisbane Times in a new tab)
Brisbane Times — is Brisbane Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Sharemarket hands back early gains for a flat finish (opens The Age in a new tab)
- Sharemarket hands back early gains for a flat finish (opens Sydney Morning Herald in a new tab)
Sydney Morning Herald — is Sydney Morning Herald biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
1Right
1Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
