SYDNEY — Australian shares retreated Thursday, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closing down 92.3 points, or 1.06%, at 8,579.5 after erasing early gains in a volatile session driven by renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

The drop came after U.S. President Donald Trump signaled in a national address that American forces would continue striking Iran “very hard” and “finish the job,” dashing hopes for a quick resolution to the conflict that has roiled global markets for weeks. Oil prices surged on the comments, with Brent crude jumping about 5-6% toward US$107 a barrel, while U.S. futures weakened and risk assets came under pressure across Asia and beyond.

Trading on the ASX was bumpy. The index opened higher, briefly climbing above 8,700 in morning trade as it rode momentum from Wednesday’s strong 2.24% rebound to 8,671.8. But sentiment flipped sharply after Trump’s midday remarks, sending the S&P/ASX 200 into negative territory and closing near session lows at 8,579.5. Volume reached 879.84 million shares, according to market data.

Nine of the 11 sectors finished in the red. Information technology led decliners, tumbling 3.93%, followed by materials, which shed 2.77% amid mixed commodity signals. Consumer staples and utilities were the only bright spots, gaining 1.32% and 0.92% respectively as defensive plays attracted some buying.

Energy stocks showed resilience in spots thanks to the oil rally. Karoon Energy jumped 6.53% to $2.12, while some gold miners also found support even as the broader gold price eased slightly. Alcoa rose 4.72%, Greatland Resources gained 4.68%, and Northern Star Resources added 3.85%. On the losing side, technology and mining names weighed heaviest, with notable decliners including HUB24, Mineral Resources and several IT firms.

The pullback erased roughly half of Wednesday’s gains, which had been fueled by optimism that the Iran conflict might wind down. That session marked the ASX 200’s strongest performance in a year, adding about $68 billion in market value as 10 of 11 sectors advanced.

Broader context points to ongoing strain. The index has now given back significant ground since hitting an all-time high near 9,202 in late February. March delivered one of the worst monthly performances in years, with the ASX 200 falling around 7.5-7.8% — its steepest drop since June 2022 — as escalating Middle East hostilities, surging oil prices and inflation worries rattled investors. Roughly $190-300 billion in market value has been wiped out since the conflict intensified.

Analysts pointed to multiple headwinds. Higher oil threatens to stoke inflation in Australia, where the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is already monitoring sticky price pressures. Markets have priced in a higher chance of RBA rate hikes if energy costs keep climbing, adding pressure to rate-sensitive sectors such as banks and property. Westpac Strategy noted that escalation risks remain “explicit,” while Morgan Stanley has warned that sustained oil above US$100 could add around 70 basis points to headline inflation.

Locally, weaker trade data added to the cautious mood. Australia’s imports fell 3.2% month-on-month in February to a seven-month low, reflecting softer demand and trade uncertainty amid global disruptions.

The All Ordinaries index fared worse, dropping 1.25% to 8,774.9. The small ordinaries fell 2.50%, and the tech-heavy All Tech index slid 3.51%. Resources dropped 2.42%.

Geopolitical developments dominated the narrative. The U.S.-Iran conflict, which escalated with strikes in recent weeks, has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a critical chokepoint carrying about one-fifth of global oil supply. Shipping companies including Maersk have suspended routes, and oil prices have remained elevated, creating a classic stagflationary risk mix of higher energy costs and slower growth.

Trump’s remarks provided no clear de-escalation timeline, prompting investors to lock in profits and reduce exposure to growth-oriented stocks. Tech names suffered as rising bond yields weighed on future earnings valuations. Miners faced pressure from uncertainty over China’s energy security and demand outlook, even as some iron ore and base metal signals showed resilience.

Defensive and commodity-linked plays offered limited insulation. Gold traded near elevated levels but eased modestly during the session, supporting select gold producers such as Newmont and Evolution Mining earlier in the week. Energy firms with exposure to oil benefited from the price spike, though broader market nerves capped gains.

Looking ahead, the ASX will be closed Friday for Good Friday and Monday for the Easter public holiday, reopening Tuesday. That lull gives investors time to digest any further developments from Washington or Tehran. Markets will watch for signs of diplomatic progress or further military action, as well as upcoming Chinese economic data and any RBA commentary on inflation risks.

Economists remain divided on the near-term outlook. Some see selective buying opportunities in undervalued resource and energy names if the conflict stabilizes, while others warn of more downside if oil sustains above US$100-105 and forces central banks to tighten or hold rates higher for longer. The OECD has flagged Australia as potentially facing one of the higher inflation readings among advanced economies.

Year-to-date, the S&P/ASX 200 is down about 1.55%, with a one-year return still positive at around 8.13% despite recent volatility. The 52-week range spans from roughly 7,169 to 9,202.

Corporate highlights were muted amid the macro focus, though PEXA continued to face pressure from a regulatory review, and other individual stocks moved on company-specific news.

Investors will also monitor Wall Street’s reaction when U.S. markets reopen, along with any fresh comments from the Trump administration. Asian markets, including Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, also closed lower Thursday as the risk-off mood spread.

The Australian dollar was little changed near 69 U.S. cents, reflecting mixed signals from commodities and rates.

While the session highlighted the ASX’s sensitivity to global events — particularly energy shocks and U.S. policy — analysts caution that prolonged Middle East instability could weigh on consumer confidence, business investment and household spending in Australia. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced up to A$693 million in cheap loans to help ease fuel costs for households and businesses, offering a small domestic buffer.

For now, the market appears to be pricing in heightened uncertainty rather than outright panic. But with oil volatile and central banks on alert, the path forward for the ASX 200 in April remains clouded by geopolitical crosscurrents.

The search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of NBC “Today” show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, has entered its third month with no arrests, no identified suspect and no confirmed trace of the widow since she was abducted from her Catalina Foothills home in late January, authorities said Friday.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen around 9 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2026, when a family member dropped her off at her residence. She failed to appear the next morning for a virtual church service, prompting her family to report her missing around noon on Feb. 1. Pima County Sheriff’s investigators quickly classified the case as an abduction after security camera footage captured a masked, armed individual approaching the home around 2 a.m. Her pacemaker app disconnected from her phone at approximately 2:28 a.m., and a doorbell camera went offline shortly before.

Sheriff Chris Nanos has repeatedly described the incident as a targeted home invasion and abduction, with drops of blood found on the front porch suggesting possible violence. The family has been fully cleared of involvement, and Sheriff Nanos has praised their cooperation while calling them victims in the case.

As of early April 2026, the investigation remains active but has shifted from broad public appeals and large-scale desert searches to more focused forensic work, tip verification and evidence analysis. The FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department have received tens of thousands of tips, conducted extensive neighborhood canvassing, used drones and cadaver dogs, and pursued leads involving possible ransom notes demanding Bitcoin payments sent to media outlets. Officials have not confirmed the authenticity of those notes.

Recent developments include recovery of additional images from motion-triggered security cameras monitoring the pool, backyard and side yard areas. While authorities say nothing immediately suspicious was captured, investigators continue to examine timeline gaps, including potential pre-abduction activity on dates such as Jan. 11 and Jan. 24. Forensic testing of biological material and DNA from the home is ongoing, along with genetic genealogy efforts.

A Pima County Sheriff’s deputy, Travis Reynolds, 22, was arrested in late March on an unrelated kidnapping charge and subsequently fired. Officials and former FBI agents have stated there is no connection between Reynolds and the Guthrie case, despite some online speculation.

Family’s Emotional Plea and Savannah Guthrie’s Return

The Guthrie family has issued multiple public appeals, most recently in late March, urging Tucson residents and others to review home security footage, text messages, journal notes or any memories from late January or early February. “No detail is too small. It may be the key,” the family stated. Savannah Guthrie, who has been absent from the “Today” show since the disappearance, described the ordeal as “unbearable agony” in her first public interview. She expressed sorrow, wondering if her high-profile role might have made her mother a target, and said simply, “I just want to say I’m so sorry, mommy.”

Savannah is scheduled to return to the “Today” show on Monday, April 6, telling viewers that continuing her work is her “purpose right now” while the search continues. The family offered a $1 million private reward in February, supplementing the FBI’s $100,000 reward, which generated a surge of tips.

Nancy Guthrie, a widow whose husband Charles died in 1988, was known as a devoted mother, grandmother and active member of her church community. She lived a quiet life in an affluent Tucson suburb and relied on daily medication, raising concerns about her health if she remains missing.

Challenges in the Investigation

The case has highlighted difficulties in solving stranger abductions of elderly victims. Abductions of seniors are statistically rare, and the apparent targeted nature of the home invasion in a relatively safe neighborhood has puzzled investigators. No clear motive — financial, personal or otherwise — has been publicly established.

Sheriff Nanos has said the department is “closer” to identifying a suspect or suspects as the probe moves into more clinical evidence consolidation, but he cautioned that progress can be slow. Resources have been refocused on dedicated detectives, though patrol presence continues in the neighborhood. Some former investigators have speculated about possible accomplices, while others note the investigation has entered a phase of exhaustive verification rather than broad searches.

Mental health experts have spoken about the profound trauma the prolonged uncertainty inflicts on families, describing a constant emotional roller coaster of hope mixed with despair.

Broader Implications

The intense national attention on the Guthrie case, driven largely by Savannah’s prominence on “Today,” has spotlighted missing persons cases in general and renewed focus on vulnerabilities in home security even in upscale areas. Yellow ribbons tied to trees in the neighborhood serve as symbols of ongoing hope and community support.

Neighbors have reported increased vigilance, and some have questioned whether the abduction points to broader security gaps. The case has also drawn scrutiny to the handling of the crime scene, with some commentators, including legal analyst Nancy Grace, criticizing aspects of the initial response.

As the search surpasses 60 days with no resolution, the family’s renewed pleas underscore a simple message: someone may hold the missing piece — whether through overlooked footage, a suspicious vehicle sighting or a seemingly minor recollection.

Authorities urge anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to contact the Pima County Sheriff’s Department or the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

The disappearance has transformed a quiet residential street into a focal point of national curiosity and concern. For the Guthrie family and investigators alike, the priority remains bringing Nancy home safely or providing answers that allow closure.

While the investigation continues without a major public breakthrough, officials stress it remains very much active. Forensic work, digital analysis and tip follow-ups persist as the community and nation watch for any development that could finally resolve the mystery of what happened to Nancy Guthrie on that early February morning.

State-owned lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) reported a 14% year-on-year (YoY) growth in its global business to Rs 30.78 lakh crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2026, compared with Rs 27 lakh crore in the year-ago period. Global deposits rose 12% in Q4FY26 to Rs 16.48 lakh crore, up from Rs 14.72 lakh crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

These figures are provisional and part of the PSU bank’s quarterly business update. The final numbers will be announced along with its earnings.

Domestic deposits rose 13% YoY to Rs 14 lakh crore in the quarter under review, compared with Rs 12.42 lakh crore in Q4FY25.

Global advances grew over 16% to Rs 14.30 lakh crore during the January-March quarter, up from Rs 12.30 lakh crore in the year-ago period.

Domestic advances grew 15% YoY to Rs 11.69 lakh crore, compared with Rs 10.21 lakh crore in the year-ago period. Within this, domestic retail advances surged 18% to Rs 3 lakh crore from Rs 2.56 lakh crore in Q4FY25.

The state-owned bank announced its Q4 updates late Thursday. Its shares settled 0.80% lower at Rs 250 on the NSE in the previous session.
In the third quarter of FY26 ended December 2025, BoB reported credit growth of 15% to Rs 13.44 lakh crore, compared with Rs 11.73 lakh crore at the end of the same quarter last fiscal.The lender also posted a 10% increase in total deposits to Rs 15.47 lakh crore, up from Rs 14.03 lakh crore in the year-ago period.

As a result, the bank’s total business (credit and deposits) rose 12.22% to Rs 28.91 lakh crore as of December 31, 2025, compared with Rs 25.76 lakh crore a year earlier.

Also read: PNB Q4 updates: Global business rises 11% YoY to Rs 29.72 lakh crore; advances jump 13%

(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

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Operator

Good afternoon, good morning, everybody, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the EuroEyes 2025 Annual Results Presentation. It’s our pleasure to introduce to you the management joining us today. They are Dr. Jorg Slot Jorgensen, Chairman, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer; and Mr. Marcus Huascar Bracklo, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer; [Operator Instructions] May I now pass the time to Dr. Jorgensen to start the presentation, please.

Jörn Jörgensen
Founder, CEO & Executive Chairman

Yes. Hello, everybody. Good morning here from Hamburg in Germany. I’m going today to present you 2025 annual results. I’m sitting in Hamburg and our CFO, Mr. Bracklo is sitting in Frankfurt, and we will let you through the different parts of the annual result. Please, the next thing — the next slide, please.

Okay. This year, we did 2 major transition and one of them was in Switzerland and the other one in Holland. I wish to start with that today that you have a little feeling about what was going on, on this front before I come to the results. As you know, we have — we were listed in 2019. So we had proceeds from the listing. And this year, we have been looking for that a long time. We until now did two, one in London, one in Manheim. So we have been very selective there.

But this year, we found 2 at the sphere. The one was in Switzerland. And Switzerland is a very important market for our high-end products here in Europe. And also with the competition landscape is very favorable. And we managed to get a company with

The New York Times Connections puzzle for Friday, April 3, 2026 — Connections No. 1,027 — challenged players with clever word groupings that tested vocabulary nuance, drink knowledge and compound phrases, as thousands of daily solvers across the globe logged in to test their pattern-recognition skills on the popular word game.

The 16 words presented were: MEAN, PETTY, SMALL, SNIDE, JONES, LONG, LUST, THIRST, COLLINS, HURRICANE, ROCKS, ZOMBIE, CRUISE, DAMAGE, GROUND, MISSION.

According to official solutions and multiple puzzle companion sites, the four categories broke down as follows, ordered from easiest (yellow) to hardest (purple) as ranked by the game itself.

Yellow category (easiest): Catty — MEAN, PETTY, SMALL, SNIDE. These adjectives all describe subtly malicious or spiteful behavior, often associated with gossip or passive-aggressive remarks. Solvers who spotted the “catty” theme early gained quick momentum, as the words share a clear semantic overlap in everyday English usage for describing petty criticism.

Green category: Hanker (For) — JONES, LONG, LUST, THIRST. This grouping captures verbs meaning to crave or desire something intensely. “Jones” as in “jonesing for,” “long for,” “lust after” and “thirst for” all convey strong yearning. The category required recognizing less common slang like “jones” alongside more straightforward synonyms, making it a satisfying middle-difficulty solve for many.

Blue category: Cocktail Glasses — COLLINS, HURRICANE, ROCKS, ZOMBIE. These refer to specific types of glasses or serving styles used in mixology. A Tom Collins glass, Hurricane glass (famous for the New Orleans drink), rocks glass (for spirits on the rocks) and Zombie glass (for the potent tiki cocktail) form a neat set of barware terms. Drink enthusiasts and trivia fans often nailed this group quickly, while others needed to think beyond literal glass shapes to bar terminology.

Purple category (hardest): _____ Control — CRUISE, DAMAGE, GROUND, MISSION. These complete common compound phrases or titles: cruise control, damage control, ground control and mission control. The purple category, traditionally the trickiest, rewarded solvers who considered idiomatic expressions and technical terms from aviation, space exploration and emergency response. Many players reported this as the final group they cracked after eliminating other possibilities.

The puzzle’s design showcased the signature Connections style: overlapping red herrings and clever misdirection. Words like “small” could tempt players toward size-related themes, while “rocks” and “hurricane” might initially suggest weather or geology before the cocktail angle emerged. “Mission” and “ground” could evoke space themes, but pairing them correctly with “cruise” and “damage” required the precise “control” connector.

How Players Performed and Community Reaction

Early data from the New York Times Games team and community forums indicated the April 3 puzzle rated as moderately challenging for most solvers. Many achieved perfect or near-perfect scores by starting with the obvious “catty” synonyms or the cocktail glasses. Others struggled longest with the purple “_____ control” category, mistaking it for space-related terms or military phrases.

On social media platforms and Reddit’s r/NYTConnections, players shared their grid sequences, with common paths including yellow-blue-green-purple or mixed orders depending on personal strengths. Some celebrated streak extensions, while others lamented a rare miss on the tricky purple group. “The cocktail glasses were my savior today — I’m not usually a drinker but those jumped out,” one solver posted.

The Connections Companion on the New York Times site featured hints and post-puzzle discussion, encouraging players to reflect on their solving process. Editor notes often highlight how everyday language and cultural references collide in the game, as seen with the mix of slang, bar terms and technical phrases in today’s edition.

Broader Popularity of NYT Connections

Since its launch, Connections has become one of the New York Times’ most popular daily games alongside Wordle and the Mini Crossword. Released each morning at midnight Eastern Time (with the previous day’s puzzle archived), it attracts a dedicated global audience that appreciates its balance of accessibility and brain-teasing difficulty.

The game presents 16 words in a 4×4 grid. Players must sort them into four groups of four, each sharing a common theme. Correct groups earn colored tiles — yellow for the simplest, then green, blue and purple for the most obscure. Streaks, statistics and shareable emoji grids add social and competitive elements that keep players returning daily.

For April 3, 2026, puzzle No. 1,027 continued the tradition of blending linguistic nuance with pop culture and practical knowledge. Previous days featured themes ranging from rock bands and beer brands to movie titles and city nicknames, demonstrating the game’s broad appeal.

Tips for Mastering Connections

Experienced players recommend starting with the most obvious category to build confidence and eliminate words. Looking for synonyms, shared prefixes/suffixes, double meanings or cultural references often unlocks groups. Avoiding tunnel vision on one theme helps spot cross-category misdirections.

For beginners, the official hints provided in the companion article or third-party sites like TheGamer and DazePuzzle offer gentle nudges without spoiling the full solution. Practicing consistently improves pattern recognition and vocabulary agility over time.

The April 3 puzzle particularly rewarded knowledge of cocktail culture and idiomatic English, while testing emotional intelligence through the “catty” descriptors. Its mix made it representative of why Connections resonates: it feels both familiar and freshly challenging each day.

Looking Ahead in the NYT Games Universe

As Connections continues its steady growth, the New York Times Games team occasionally experiments with theme variations or difficulty curves while preserving the core mechanic that has hooked millions. Friday’s edition aligned with typical end-of-week engagement, providing a satisfying mental workout for commuters, coffee-break solvers and evening wind-down players alike.

For those who missed the April 3, 2026 puzzle or want to revisit it, archived versions remain available through the New York Times Games app and website. Future puzzles promise more inventive groupings that blend language, trivia and lateral thinking.

Whether you solved today’s Connections in record time or needed multiple attempts, the game’s enduring charm lies in its ability to unite strangers in shared frustration and triumph over 16 carefully chosen words. On April 3, the winning connections — from snide remarks to mission control — offered another reminder of the playful complexity hidden in ordinary language.

Solvers who nailed all four categories on the first try earned bragging rights, while others gained new appreciation for the subtle links between craving verbs, barware and control phrases. As the weekend approaches, many will return Saturday for the next challenge, eager to extend their streaks and sharpen their minds one puzzle at a time.