ASX ends 1.1% lower as Trump’s Iran update drags stocks into the red

The news: The Australian sharemarket ended lower after plunging into negative territory following US President Donald Trump’s address at midday, during which he repeated threats to attack Iran’s civilian infrastructure and appeared to put a three-week timeline on America’s involvement in the war.

The benchmark ASX 200 index fell 1.06% to 8,579.5, with nine of the 11 sectoral indices in negative territory.

Biggest movers:

• Karoon Energy (+6.5%) — Paced gains on the ASX 200 after trading 4.5% lower in morning trade. Energy peers Santos (+1.4%) and Beach Energy (+1.2%) also switched from negative to positive after Trump’s address.
• KMD Brands (-54.8%) — Emerged from a one-week trading halt, as the Kathmandu and Rip Curl owner completed the institutional component of its discounted equity raise.

Other news:

• ASX (-1.1%) — The securities regulator handed down its final report following its inquiry into the ASX, which focused on governance, capability and risk management frameworks following years of operational failures.
• PEXA Group (-6.8%) — NSW pricing regulator IPART issued a proposal for a new calculation methodology.
• IMDEX (-5.1%) — Acquired the remaining 60% interest of Canadian drilling software provider Krux Analytics it did not already own for $23 million.
• Northern Star Resources (-0.9%) — The business said it remains on track to deliver its twice-downgraded FY26 production guidance of “above 1.5 million ounces”, having produced 1.11 million ounces in the first nine months of the financial year.
• Electro Optic Systems (-0.3%) — Faces a $4 million fine by the Federal Court for breaching its continuous disclosure obligations by not disclosing a materially significant revenue decline in 2022.