FEAR & GREED | Business News Profit season to spark wild ride; AI spend hits $1 trillion annually; Coalition reforms
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Feb 8, 2026 Markets brace for a volatile profit season that could send share prices on sharp swings. Big tech is racing to nearly $1 trillion a year in AI-related spending and massive data centre buildouts. Political reforms reshuffle the federal coalition. Odd Olympic stories surface about unusual methods to gain an edge in men's ski jumping.
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Market Microstructure Amplifies Earnings Moves
- High-frequency and passive trading can reverse or amplify moves minutes after results, making short-term prediction very hard.
- Large-cap moves after reports may set momentum for days or weeks, not always immediately sustainable.
Small Misses, Big Sell-Offs
- REA dropped 8% even though it missed forecasts by only 1%, showing how sensitive markets are to small misses.
- Credit Corp fell 17% on its results, illustrating outsized reactions in recent seasons.
AI Capex Is Creating A Modern Infrastructure Boom
- Big US tech capex for AI and data centers may approach US$650bn in 2026, nearing A$1tn and reshaping corporate investment norms.
- Their combined planned spend dwarfs many traditional industrial giants, likened to 19th-century railroad booms.