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(set out in Article 49(2)of the Order; (c) other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated in accordance with the Order or (d) any persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be made (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”).

The material may contain an ‘investment recommendation’ and/or ‘information recommending or suggesting an investment’, both as defined in Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (including as applicable in the United Kingdom) (“MAR”).

• 2.82 million Australians now hold ETFs, more than double the number in 2020.

• 33% of intending investors expect to invest in ETFs over the next 12 months.

Some 33% of intending investors said they were likely to invest in ETFs over the coming year, up from 21% in 2023.

Australian-listed shares remain the most likely investment at 41%.

French Presidential Elections: A Primer 15October 2026 French Presidential Elections CROSS EXPERTISE 2 Contents Political and macroeconomic Outlook ................................

24 French Covered Bonds Likely to Maintain AAA Ratings in the Event of a Sovereign Downgrade ................................

This deadline will mechanically restrict the list of candidates, as this threshold is difficult to clear for candidates lacking a solid local electoral footprint 1 .

It is important to note that the eve of the second -round falls on 1 May, International Workers' Day in France, a day typically characterised by height ened political activity and significant trade union mobilisation.

The next President of the Republic will take office on 14 May 2027, the date on which President E.

Should the incoming President opt for snap elections, the legislative ballot must be held within twenty to forty days following dissolution, with a first round scheduled for 6, 13 or 20 June 2027.

According to recent polling institute estimates 3 ,Marine Le Pen (National Rally) reaches the second round in all scenarios tested.

Her first -round voting intentions currently hover between 32and 3 5% (See Chart 1 & 2 and Table 1 ).

Lisnard (liberal right) rarely poll sabove 3% in surveys but is highly likely to secure the 500 sponsorships required to sustain his candidacy and is credited with amore than 10% chance of victory on alternative online prediction platforms.

More candidates are running for the 2027 elections, see France: Q&A Less Than a Year Ahead of the French Presidential Election .

With the 2027 presidential election just under six months away, polling data at this stage of the electoral cycle should be treated with due caution.

Chart 1: Main potential candidates for the presidential election Chart 2: Main potential candidates for the presidential election Sources: Toluna -Harris (29 May –12 October), Natixis CIB Sources: Ifop (26 June –2 October), Natixis CIB Furthermore, in several recent Presidential elections, the eventual winner was a late -emerging candidate.

1WESTPAC ECONOMICS WESTPAC MARKET OUTLOOK October 2026 Your monthly report on Australia and the global economy.

22 Europe & UK Concerns over Europe’s outlook 24 Summary forecast tables Australia – financial 26 Australia – economic 27 New Zealand 28 Commodity prices 29 United States 30 Europe 31 Asia 32 Global growth 33 westpaciq.com.au WESTPAC MARKET OUTLOOK October 2026 CONTENTS Westpac Market Outlook is a monthly publication produced by Westpac Economics.

• ASML: Raised its annual sales guidance, with customers planning equipment orders extending towards 2029 and 2030.

This is playing out as we anticipated in our Q4 outlook, “Raise the Bar,” where we highlighted the cost of capital as an increasingly important driver of the AI trade.

September 2026 Labour Force Survey Westpac Economics Key Results – 39.3k Employment Change Surprised materially to downside, but some residual seasonality could be in the mix.September 2026: Looking shakier Westpac Chart Pack –September 2026 Labour Force Survey 4.7% Unemployment Rate Continues to slowly drift higher as labour supply outstrips demand.

But in 10% of cases, Cartwright said, that limited escalation could spiral out of control.

In contrast, new RMB loans under the TSF measure totalled RMB1.27tn, down RMB334.2bn YoY, remaining the main drag on overall credit expansion.

Despite the stronger-than- expected headline figures, outstanding TSF growth edged down by 0.1ppt to 7.1% YoY, suggesting that the underlying credit impulse remains weak.

Separately, Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said the government aims to create 500,000 job opportunities through AI initiatives, alongside efforts to upgrade workforce skills and expand high growth, high value industries.

PH: The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects the country’s balance of payments (BOP) to remain in deficit at USD9.2bn (1.8% of GDP) in 2026, before narrowing to USD8.5bn (1.6% of GDP) in 2027, amid subdued global growth, geopolitical tensions, and elevated energy costs.

Meanwhile, the current account deficit is projected at USD19.1bn (3.8% of GDP) in 2026 and to remain broadly stable at USD19.4bn (3.6% of GDP) in 2027, driven mainly by elevated fuel and commodity prices, although import growth is expected to moderate amid weaker domestic demand.

Electronics exports, services receipts, and remittances are expected to provide some support, but will not be "sufficient to fully offset the trade ‑driven deficit, ”leaving net financial inflows of USD11.4bn in 2026 and USD11.8bn in 2027 to partly finance the shortfall.

Gross international reserves are expected to remain above USD100bn in both years, providing "a critical buffer against external shocks.” AU: Australia’s NAB business confidence index fell further into negative territory in September, declining 4 points to -13, some 18 points below its long-run average and its third consecutive monthly decline.

Meanwhile the business conditions index remained unchanged at -1, below its long run average of 7.

The probability is still lower at just 29% but it has increased from just 17% at the end of last week.

QPETRO still has sellers of 29s (-0.125pt/+2bp) but started to see buyers in long end, 41s closing -0.25pt/+0bp.

Australia shed 39,300 jobs in September against an expected 20,000 gain, and unemployment held at 4.7%, the highest since October 2021.

The Nikkei 225 is 5.13% lower at 64,267.09 after finishing Wednesday near 67,744, and the Hang Seng is down 1.47% at 23,955.59, its technology sub-index 2.94% weaker.

HSBC cut its end-2026 targets for the mainland indices by 9% to 15%, tighter global liquidity cited.

The Singapore desk had the Kospi 5.7% lower around 03:00 CET.

The headline rose 0.1% more than expected to 3.7% YoY vs. 3.4% in August.

From here, the focus higher could center on the prior range low of 1.1325 and then into the 38.2% Fib retracement near 1.1340, but the bar is quite high for a full reversal, which would require something like the 1.1500 area to come into play and it is far too soon to bring that kind of level into the picture.

That effect has clearly faded, with production in the chemical sector now 1.7% lower than in January.

The other 12 all expected one further rate rise this year.

That still points to rate cuts from late 2027 and into 2028.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government remains set on a domestic demand push, and we have a slight preference that the next two hikes are backloaded into January and April, right before the consumption tax rate on food is cut to 1% from 8%.

Household energy prices rose 0.6% MoM, below our 1.2% forecast.

Meanwhile, food prices were flat MoM, below our 0.3% forecast.

Recreation surprised to the upside, rising 0.5% MoM versus our 0.2% forecast.

However, this was partly offset by a weaker than expected 0.2% increase in education and communication, versus our 0.4% forecast, as communication prices fell 0.2% MoM.