ASX closes higher; Viva Energy, Ampol surge as oil price rise continues
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The news: The Australian sharemarket finished higher as oil refiners Viva Energy and Ampol surged on higher oil prices due to the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran.
The benchmark ASX index rose 0.44% to end at 8,940.3, with eight of the 11 sectoral indices in positive territory.
The tech sector (+4.6%) was the best performing as it tracked an overnight rebound for US tech stocks. WiseTech Global (+4.7%), Xero (+4.3%), Technology One (+4.4%), NextDC (+3.4%) and Catapult Sport (+10.3%) finished higher.
Biggest movers:
- Viva Energy (+11.9%) and Ampol (+8.5%) — Australian oil refiners were among the best performers on the ASX 200 as oil prices amid the ongoing Iran war. Overnight, the US sank an Iranian warship with a torpedo.
Other news:
- Worley (+2.9%) — Signed an agreement with the Republic of Kazakhstan’s oil producer Tengizchevroil LPP to provide engineering projects across its operational assets, effective from February 2026.
- CSL (+2.5%) — CSL Seqirus has been awarded an advance order contract with the Public Health Agency of Canada to supply 15 million doses in the event that the World Health Organisation declares a flu pandemic.
- Rio Tinto (+1.2%) — Signed a memorandum of understanding with the world’s largest lithium-ion battery company CATL to progress mining electrification.
- Bapcor (+0.7%) — Opened a retail entitlement offer to raise about $43 million. This follows a $157 million institutional placement completed at the end of February.
- Star Entertainment Group (0%) — Federal Court Justice Michael Lee has ruled that former Star CEO Matthias Bekier and former general counsel Paula Martin breached their duties under the Corporations Act but seven other non-executive directors did not.
- Boss Energy (0%) — Maintained its FY26 production guidance after warning that heavy rain is continuing to impact output at its flagship Honeymoon operation in South Australia.
- Humm Group (-2.2%) — Established an independent board committee to “consider, negotiate, approve and implement” a $385 million takeover proposal from debt collector Credit Corp, as part of its voluntary undertaking agreed with the Takeovers Panel last week.
- The Lottery Corporation (-0.7%) — Announced a new operating model in a bid to support the next phase of the company’s strategy and growth, effective from 1 July 2026.
- Pengana International Equities — In a trading halt following an announcement from Pengana Capital Group (PCG) that it has entered into an agreement for Antipodes Partners to “assist” PCG in managing the PIA portfolio in line with the Antipodes Global SMID strategy.
What’s ahead:
- The US Department of Labor will report weekly unemployment claims data on Friday at 12:30am AEDT.
