ASX opens lower as Tuas and Brambles plummet
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More news: Australian shares opened lower as the industrials and mining sectors weighed heavily on the indices. Investors are also weighing up the ongoing fragile US-Iran peace talks after an overnight drone strike sparked a fire at a nuclear power facility in the United Arab Emirates.
The benchmark ASX 200 was down by 78.4 points, or 0.91%, to 8,552 at 10:30am AEST. Nine of the 11 sectoral indices opened in the red.
Energy (+1.80%) was the strongest performing sector at the open, supported by Woodside (+1.86%), Santos (+1.14%), Ampol (+1.57%) and New Hope (+2.10%) as oil prices climbed above USD110 ($154) a barrel overnight.
Pro Medicus (+6.97%) was the best performing stock across the ASX 200 after securing a seven-year contract with Beth Israel Lahey Health.
Lynas Rare Earths (+3.70%), Life360 (+3.25%), Ora Banda Mining (+2.95%) and Karoon Energy (+2.87%) were among the best performing stocks across the ASX 200 at the open.
Elsewhere, industrials (-3.17%) was the weakest performing sector, weighed down by Brambles (-14.75%) after it downgraded its FY26 guidance after flagging repair capacity constraints in the US.
Elders (-17.08%) also slumped despite posting a 17% rise in first-half profit.
Tuas (-57.54%), A2 Milk (-5.62%), Catalyst Metals (-5.22%) and West African Resources (-4.58%) were also among the worst performing stocks at the open.
Australian shares set to fall as war-driven inflation fears rattle Wall St
The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open lower after US stocks fell sharply on Friday and bond yields surged, as enthusiasm around technology stocks gave way to inflation concerns and traders increased bets that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year.
The numbers: Updated at 7:46am AEST:
- ASX futures: down 38 points to 8,661 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 1.07%, S&P 500 down 1.24%, Nasdaq down 1.54%
- Europe: FTSE 100 down 1.71%, CAC 40 down 1.61%, DAX down 2.07%
- Spot gold: down 2.22% to USD4,547.89 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 1.15% to USD108.00/barrel, US WTI up 4.20% to USD105.42/bbl
- AUD: down 0.10% at 71.47 US cents
- Bitcoin: down 4.58% to USD78,377
The context: All three major US indices closed lower on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq retreating after reaching record closes in the previous two sessions on the back of gains in AI-related technology stocks.
US Treasury yields climbed to their highest levels in a year as elevated oil prices fuelled concerns that ongoing energy disruptions in the Middle East could add to inflation pressures. The 10-year treasury yield jumped to 4.59%, the highest since February 2025, while the 30-year treasury yield rose to 5.12%, its highest closing level since July 2007, according to WSJ.
Oil prices also rose on uncertainty surrounding Middle East peace efforts after a drone strike sparked a fire at a nuclear power facility in the United Arab Emirates, officials said on Sunday. The incident added to inflation concerns following two stronger-than-expected US inflation readings last week. Markets are now pricing in a 38.8% chance of a 25 basis point Federal Reserve rate hike by year-end, up from less than 14% a week ago, according to CME Group’s FedWatch.
Elsewhere, 30-year UK gilt yields surged as much as 20 basis points to above 5.8% as markets braced for a potential leadership challenge to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The move followed reports that the Labour Party had agreed to allow Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to return to parliament, fuelling speculation over a possible challenge to Starmer’s leadership.
