Australian shares open flat as oil stocks jump; Accent sheds 20%
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More news: Australian shares edged higher at the open as oil giants Woodside Energy and Santos extended recent gains, after rising tensions between the US, Iran and Israel overnight pushed global crude prices higher.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 5.3 points, or 0.06%, to 8,570.4 at 10:40am AEST. Six of the 11 sectoral indices were in the red.
Energy stocks surged 2.7% as Santos (2.7%) and Woodside (2.4%) both tracked climbing crude prices. Smaller rivals Karoon Energy (3.9%) and Beach Energy (2%) also rallied.
Utilities added 2.1%, boosted by a 2.7% jump by the country's top energy retailer and gas producer Origin Energy.
Elsewhere, gold stocks made up seven of the top 10 performing ASX 200 companies, with Bellevue Gold (5.9%), Newmont (4.9%) and Genesis Minerals (4.3%) leading the advance.
Footwear retailer Accent, owner of the Hype, Platypus and Glue Store businesses, dived 20.5% after warning of softer sales during the first half of 2025.
Australian shares to lift after Oracle drives US tech rally
The news: Australian shares are set to open higher after all three US indices closed higher overnight, spurred by a 13% jump by software giant Oracle.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: up 46 points, or 0.53%, to 8,605
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.24%, S&P 500 up 0.38%, and Nasdaq up 0.24%
- Europe: CAC 40 down 0.14%, DAX down 0.74%, and FTSE 100 up 0.23%
- Spot gold: flat at USD3,386 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent up 1.2% to USD70.19/bbl, and US WTI up 1% to USD68.86/bbl
- AUD: up 0.44% to 65.33 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 0.2% to USD106,212.
The context: Oracle led a tech rally on Wall Street after upgrading its annual revenue growth forecast, driven by high demand for its AI-related services. Microsoft, Nvidia and Broadcom also climbed more than 1%.
However, heightened tensions between the US, Iran and Israel dampened investor sentiment globally. US President Donald Trump ordered US personnel to leave the region on Wednesday as it could be a "dangerous place".
The US dollar dropped to a three-year low after Trump said he would send letters to trading partners outlining new tariffs rates, as the end of the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs approaches.
What's ahead: The Australian Bureau of Statistics will publish overseas arrivals and departures for April at 11:30am AEST. May saw total arrivals increase 4.6% from one year earlier.
