liveLive markets updates: Federal government announces 2027 gas reservation scheme, ASX gainsBy business reporter Stephen LettsTopic:Stock Market4h ago4 hours agoSun 21 Dec 2025 at 8:19pmSkip to timelineThe ASX is rising following tech-led gains on Wall Street overnight, while Elon Musk has a big court win over a disputed bonus.Locally, the federal government has announced its intention to start a gas reservation scheme from 2027, although it says existing export contracts will be unaffected. Follow the day's financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters on our live blog.Disclaimer: this blog is not intended as investment advice.Key Events'Global energy crisis' sparks government action10m ago10 minutes agoMon 22 Dec 2025 at 12:39amGas scheme aims to reserve up to 25pc of gas production for domestic market17m ago17 minutes agoMon 22 Dec 2025 at 12:32amASX 200 by led higher by miners and healthcare29m ago29 minutes agoMon 22 Dec 2025 at 12:21amShow all key eventsSubmit a comment or question Log in to commentLive updatesLatestOldestPinned1h agoSun 21 Dec 2025 at 11:18pmMarket SnapshotSBy Stephen LettsASX 200: +0.6% to 8,672 points (live prices below)Australian dollar: flat at 66.10 US centsWall Street (Friday): S&P500 +0.9%, Dow +0.6%, Nasdaq +1.3%Europe (Friday): Dax +0.4%, FTSE +0.5%, Eurostoxx +0.4%Spot gold: +0.1% to $US4,344/ounceBrent crude: +0.7% to $US 60.90/barrelIron ore (Friday): -0.4% to $US104.0/tonneBitcoin: +0.4% at $US88,539Prices current at around 10:15am AEDTLive updates on the major ASX indices:Key Event10m agoMon 22 Dec 2025 at 12:39am'Global energy crisis' sparks government actionSBy Stephen LettsThe Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, says the gas reservation scheme announced this morning will deliver lasting reform to the Australian gas market and provide relief to consumers in the midst of a global energy crisis."More affordable Australian gas for Australian users will support our economy and our transition, while remaining a reliable energy partner to our region," Mr Bowen said."Gas has an important role to play in our energy system as we transition towards 82 per cent renewables."Unlike coal, gas power generators can be turned on and off in a couple of minutes — providing the ultimate backstop in our energy grid."We acted in the midst of a global energy crisis to address gas shortfalls, ensuring supply and protecting consumers from the worst price spikes — now is the time to seize the opportunity and deliver lasting reform to our gas market."Key Event17m agoMon 22 Dec 2025 at 12:32amGas scheme aims to reserve up to 25pc of gas production for domestic marketSBy Stephen LettsThe federal government says its gas reservation scheme is intended to secure more affordable gas for Australian households, better protect businesses from international price spikes and ensure industry is on a stronger footing when it comes to negotiating gas contracts.The scheme will require exporters to reserve between 15 and 25 per cent of gas production for the domestic market, with the required proportion to be settled after the forthcoming consultation.Here are the key principles of the scheme taken from the government's media release:Existing contracts should be respected — both domestic and international contracts. Any contracts in place before today's announcement will be considered existing contracts. Any contracts signed after today's announcement will not be considered existing contracts.The reservation scheme should have capacity to be national in scope, working in tandem with federal, state and territory gas market mechanisms.The reservation scheme is intended to commence in 2027The reservation scheme should increase domestic supply as existing contracts expire, to drive downward pressure on price.Under the preferred export approval model, exporters will need to meet domestic supply obligations firstProducers should have flexibility to meet domestic and export obligations through a variety of standard commercial/market-based arrangements, including contracting with exporters or domestic producers so long as supply obligations are met.The reservation scheme should encourage long term domestic gas supply contracts to support investment decisions which rely on gas as an input, including C&I (commercial& industrial) users and supporting gas infrastructure providers.The reservation scheme should provide long term certainty for commercial production and investment, including by clearly setting domestic supply requirements well in advance of establishment and minimise impact on Australia's LNG trade partners and their energy security.Key Event29m agoMon 22 Dec 2025 at 12:21amASX 200 by led higher by miners and healthcareSBy Stephen LettsThe ASX has made a solid start to the shortened Christmas trading week.At 11am AEDT, the ASX 200 was up 0.6% to 8,674 points, while the broader All Ordinaries was up a similar amount to 8,972 points.The miners, energy and healthcare stocks have led the way, with most key sectors making gains.ASX 200 by sector (LSEG, ASX)Most of the big miners are in demand, with BHP and Rio Tinto both 1.5% higher.ASX major miners (LSEG, ASX)Healthcare stocks were broadly higher with CSL gaining 1.1%ASX major healthcare stocks (LSEG, ASX)Technology stocks are mostly higher following Wall Street's lead. WiseTech Global is an exception, down around 3%.ASX major tech stocks (LSEG, ASX)The banks are mixed with CBA up 0.3% and NAB down 0.7%.ASX banks (LSEG, ASX)The top movers on the ASX 200 are led by Canadian uranium play Nextgen Energy (+7.1%), while the unrelated data centre business NEXTDC is next best, up 6%.ASX 200 top movers (LSEG, ASX)The bottom movers include WiseTech Global, and gold and copper play Greatland resources (-2.8%)ASX 200 bottom movers (LSEG, ASX)Key Event53m agoSun 21 Dec 2025 at 11:56pmFederal government announces gas reservation schemeSBy Stephen LettsJust in from our colleagues at Parliament House in Canberra:The Federal Government has announced plans for a gas reservation scheme, aimed at increasing domestic supplies and driving down the cost of natural gas.The government will begin consultation on a plan to restrict gas exports unless domestic demand is catered for first by ensuring 15-25% percent of extracted gas is reserved for use within Australia.Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen says the scheme will start operating in 2027 but apply to any new contracts entered into from today.Key Event1h agoSun 21 Dec 2025 at 11:22pmASX 200 opens 0.6pc higherSBy Stephen LettsThe ASX 200 has followed Wall Street higher, gaining 0.6% on opening to 8,672 points.Key Event1h agoSun 21 Dec 2025 at 11:13pmEnergy regulator hauls Origin into court over alleged overpaymentsSBy Stephen LettsThe Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has hauled Origin Energy into the Federal Court over allegations it, and four of its subsidiaries, overcharged customers.The AER allegations centre on Origin continuing to receive payments from Centrepay customers who had closed their accounts with Origin and had fully paid all amounts they owed."It is alleged that Origin failed to inform these customers about these overcharged payments or refund them within the timeframe required by the Retail Rules," AER said in a statement."The AER alleges that Origin knew that its systems were processing payments in this way as early as 2017 and put on hold a previously approved process that could have prevented further payments from occurring."Centrepay is a government bill paying service where people use their Centrelink payments to make regular payments for essential goods and services.Origin's alleged conduct affected more than 3,400 electricity and gas customers between December 2019 and March 2025."It's alleged this conduct resulted in more than 77,000 breaches and Origin retaining more than $2.5 million from affected customers," AER said."This included one customer who was allegedly overcharged by more than $11,000 over a period of almost 2 years."The AER is seeking orders for pecuniary penalties, declarations, customer remediation, a compliance program, and an independent review of such a program, and costs.A separate AER investigation from the same Services Australia referral resulted in Alinta Energy last month paying $1,089,000 in penalties for similar alleged conduct.In December 2024, the Federal Court imposed a $25 million penalty on AGL for failing to comply with overcharging obligations related to Centrepay payments.2h agoSun 21 Dec 2025 at 10:25pmOil price risk as US pursues another Venezuelan tankerSBy Stephen LettsOil has risen as the US tightens its blockade on Venezuelan oil and its coast guard pursues another tanker.The global benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.1% back above $US60/barrel in Friday trade, and the key US West Texas Intermediate crude price rose almost 1% on news that the US planned its third interception of a Venezuelan tanker in less than two weeks."The United States Coast Guard is in active pursuit of a sanctioned 'dark fleet' vessel that is part of Venezuela's illegal sanctions evasion," a US official, quoted by Reuters, said."It is flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order."British maritime risk management group Vanguard, along with a US maritime security source, identified the vessel as Bella 1, a very large crude oil carrier that was added last year to the sanctions list of the US Treasury Department, which said the vessel has links to Iran.Bella 1 was empty when it was approaching Venezuela on Sunday, according to TankerTrackers.com.The vessel had, in 2021, provided transportation for Venezuela's oil to China, according to internal documents from state-run oil company PDVSA.It had also previously carried Iranian crude, according to the vessel monitoring service.The continued blockade is again putting upward pressure on oil prices, which had been subsiding in recent weeks."We might see prices increasing modestly at the opening, considering market participants could see this as an escalation with more Venezuelan barrels at risk" because the tanker intercepted on Saturday was not under US sanctions, UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.With ReutersLoading Twitter contentKey Event2h agoSun 21 Dec 2025 at 9:56pmChampion Iron pitches $440 million takeover of Norwegian minerSBy Stephen LettsThe ASX-listed, Canada-focused Champion Iron has pitched a $US289 million ($440 million) takeover bid for the Norwegian iron ore miner Rana Gruber.The all-cash bid has been unanimously supported by the Rana Gruber board.Champion says the bid will be financed by its own cash reserves, as well as funding from Canadian banks.Champion says the deal will improve its position to supply "the green steel supply chain" with Rana Gruber being "among the world's most sustainable producers of high-grade iron ore".3h agoSun 21 Dec 2025 at 9:35pmMusk wins a $US139 billion Christmas present via the courtsSBy Stephen LettsHo, Ho, Ho, Elon Musk has had his $US139 billion ($210 billion) pay package from 2018 restored by the Delaware Supreme Court on Friday, nearly two years after a lower court struck down the compensation deal as "unfathomable".As Reuters reports, "the ruling overturns a decision that had prompted a furious backlash from Musk and damaged Delaware's business-friendly reputation".It assures Musk greater control over the company, which he has said is his main concern, even after shareholders recently approved a new pay package that could be worth $US878 billion if Tesla meets certain targets.The Supreme Court said a 2024 ruling that rescinded the pay package had been improper and inequitable to Musk.The remedy of total rescission "leaves Musk uncompensated for his time and efforts over a period of six years," the 49-page ruling issued on Friday stated.The 2018 pay package is now worth about $139 billion based on the price of Tesla's stock at the close of trading on Friday."For Elon, this is a win because he gets control faster," said Gene Munster, managing partner at Tesla investor Deepwater Asset Management.If Musk exercises all the stock options from the 2018 package, his stake in Tesla would grow from about 12.4% to 18.1% of an expanded share base. The company is issuing shares tied to his new pay package, although he must earn them by hitting performance goals.With ReutersLoading3h agoSun 21 Dec 2025 at 9:07pmThis week: It's ChristmasSBy Stephen LettsReaders of the Monday blog may have spotted this little ritual of highlighting the key macro events of the week.It's safe to say there's nothing much ahead to divert you from those last-minute pre-Christmas jobs.Locally, on Tuesday the RBA posts the minutes of the last board meeting where nothing happened.Instead of ploughing through the minutes in search of some nugget of insight, our recommendation is to watch another repeat of Love Actually.Otherwise, grab a good book as the next meaningful bit of data, the November CPI figures, is not due out until January 7.Overseas, statisticians are similarly winding down for the year.In the US, the delayed Q3 GDP numbers are out on Tuesday and are expected to show fairly solid year-on-year growth of 3.2%.LoadingKey Event4h agoSun 21 Dec 2025 at 8:34pmWall Street bounces on AI rally, ASX set to riseSBy Stephen LettsWe may not have officially entered the so-called "Santa Rally" zone, but Wall Street enjoyed some festive cheer ahead of the shortened trading week.All the key US indices rose, led in particular by the tech sector.The S&P 500 gained 0.9%, the Dow 0.4% and the Nasdaq 1.3%.The optimistic sentiment was widespread.The pan-Europe Eurostoxx 600 gained 0.4%, while the global MSCI benchmark rose 0.7% across the day.For Europe, it marked a record close. Once again, aerospace and defence stocks were in the hottest demand.The performance of Micron Technology in the US, which jumped 7% thanks to a broker upgrade, buoyed the somewhat wobbly AI cohort.Nvidia picked up almost 4% and Oracle rose 6.4% after signing a binding agreement with Byte Dance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, to run the US operations of the social media platform."The return to a more optimistic tone around the AI trade is certainly helping a number of things across the board," Rosenblatt Securities trader Michael James told Reuters."It was certainly helping the Nasdaq in a meaningful way yesterday, and again today," he said."We're not out of the woods, but it certainly feels a lot better today than it did most of the course of the last week."The US dollar index rose marginally, although the Australian dollar largely held its ground.On commodity markets, the global oil benchmark, Brent Crude, rose 1.1% to $US60.47/barrel on the prospect of supply disruptions from a US blockade of Venezuelan tankers.Spot gold edged higher, and silver rose 2.8% to yet another record high, hitting $US67.22/ounce.4h agoSun 21 Dec 2025 at 8:11pmGood morningSBy Stephen LettsHello, and welcome to another day on the ABC markets and finance blog.Stephen Letts from ABC business team limbering up for a blow-by-blow coverage of the day's events, where every post is hopefully a winner, but none should be construed as financial advice.In short, it looks like the local market will start the shortened trading week on a positive note.Futures trading is pointing to the ASX gaining around 0.5% on opening, clawing back some of the 0.9% it shed last week.As always, the game's afoot, so let's get blogging.Loading4h agoSun 21 Dec 2025 at 8:11pmMarket snapshotSBy Stephen LettsASX 200 futures: +0.5% to 8,640 pointsAustralian dollar: -0.1% to 66.05US centsWall Street (Friday): S&P500 +0.9%, Dow +0.6%, Nasdaq +1.3%Europe (Friday): Dax +0.4%, FTSE +0.5%, Eurostoxx +0.4%Spot gold (Friday): +0.1% to $US4,338/ounceBrent crude (Friday): +1.1% to $US 60.47/barrelIron ore (Friday): -0.4% to $US104.0/tonneBitcoin: +0.3% at $US88,431Prices current at around 7:10am AEDT