Australian shares edge higher as Qantas rebounds and oil stocks surge
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More news: Australian shares edged higher at market open after a mixed session on Wall Street overnight, as oil giants Woodside Energy and Santos extended recent gains following a jump in US crude prices.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 5.5 points, or 0.06%, to 8,597.6 at 10:30am AEST. Seven of the 11 sectoral indices were in the green.
Energy (1.3%) was the best performing sector as Woodside (2.4%) and Santos (2.4%) surged. Fellow oil stocks Karoon Energy (3.7%), Beach Energy (3.2%) and Ampol (1.5%) also gained.
The rally tracked a 5% spike in US West Texas Intermediate crude after the US prepared to partially evacuate its Iraq embassy amid escalating security risks in the region.
Qantas was the best performing ASX 200 company in early trading, up 4.7% after closing 1.3% lower on Wednesday following news of Jetstar Asia's closure.
Meanwhile, luxury retail platform Cettire shed 25.8% after warning of continued challenges in its key markets, with US trading impacted by recent tariff policy changes.
Australian shares to lift as big tech paces Wall Street losses
The news: Australian shares are set to open higher after a mixed session on Wall Street, as big tech stocks led declines while softer-than-expected inflation data in the US eased concerns around the impact of tariffs on the world's largest economy.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: up 17 points, or 0.19%, to 8,619
- Wall Street: Dow Jones flat, S&P 500 down 0.27%, and Nasdaq down 0.5%
- Europe: CAC 40 down 0.36%, DAX down 0.16%, and FTSE 100 up 0.13%
- Spot gold: flat at USD3,355 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent up 0.85% to USD70.36/bbl, and US WTI up 5.11% to USD68.30/bbl
- AUD: down 0.33% to 65 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 0.17% to USD109,113.
The context: Tech megacaps Amazon (-2%), Apple (-1.9%) and Meta Platforms (-1.1%) all dropped as Wall Street indices pared early gains. Stocks had been boosted by new data that showed consumer prices increased marginally in May, and lower than average market forecasts.
Meanwhile, traders monitored increased tensions in the Middle East, after reports that the US is preparing to partially evacuate its Iraq embassy over heightened security risks in the region. US West Texas Intermediate crude jumped more than 5% following the news.
