Australian Shares Fall; GQG Partners' Funds Under Management Fall in August
Australian shares continued their decline on Friday, as oil prices continued to climb.The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.89%, or 78.20 points, to close at 8,741.20.Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both fell 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.7%.Brent crude oil futures soared to trade around $108 per barrel, as the US and Iran continued to trade attacks, while the Iran-aligned Houthis took over the strategic port of Mocha in Yemen, threatening shipping via the Red Sea.On the domestic front, Australian card transaction activity fell slightly in late August from a historical high earlier in the month, although quarterly growth momentum has continued to strengthen and is now in the 1.3% to 1.5% range, Westpac said.In company news, GQG Partners (ASX:GQG) said its funds under management (FUM) stood at $149.2 billion as of Aug. 31. The company had reported FUM of $167.6 billion at the close of August 2025. Its shares earlier fell nearly 9%, hitting a record low.Focus Minerals (ASX:FML) logged AU$0.2995 in earnings per share for the first half, compared with AU$0.7726 a year ago. For the six months ended June 30, revenue was AU$261.5 million versus AU$84.4 million previously.Lastly, Larvotto Resources (ASX:LRV) logged AU$0.0134 in loss per share for the first half, compared with a loss of AU$0.0304 a year ago. For the six months ended June 30, other income was AU$1.6 million versus AU$1.1 million previously.
