Australian shares open higher as tech and banks rally; oil stocks tank
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More news: Australian shares jumped more than 1% in early trading, tracking a surge on Wall Street overnight, as tech and big banks led gains and oil stocks retreated.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 87.1 points, or 1.03%, to 8,562 at 10:45am AEST. Nine of the 11 sectoral indices were in the green.
Technology (1.9%) was the best performing sector, with software giant WiseTech Global soaring 3.8%.
Financials (1.6%) also advanced, with each of the big four lenders Westpac (1.8%), Commonwealth Bank (1.4%), NAB (1.3%) and ANZ (1.2%) notching significant gains.
Oil stocks made up five of the worst six performing ASX 200 companies. Woodside Energy tumbled 7.5%, as smaller rivals Karoon Energy (-8.6%), Beach Energy (-5.1%), Ampol (-1.9%) and Viva Energy (-1.9%) also declined.
The selloff tracked a sharp drop in global crude prices overnight as Iran's muted response to US attacks eased fears of further damage to critical energy infrastructure in the region.
Australian shares to lift as US stocks jump on muted Iran response
The news: Australian shares are poised to rise as US stocks closed sharply higher overnight, after Iran's response to US strikes was seen as less severe than feared.
The numbers: Updated at 7:30am AEST:
- ASX futures: up 22 points, or 0.25%, to 8,510
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.89%, S&P 500 up 0.96%, and Nasdaq up 0.94%
- Europe: CAC 40 down 0.69%, DAX down 0.35%, and FTSE 100 down 0.19%
- Spot gold: flat at USD3,368 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent down 8.43% to USD69.12/bbl, and US WTI down 8.97% to USD67.22/bbl
- AUD: up 0.09% to 64.56 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 0.45% USD104,267.
The context: All three major US stock indices rallied overnight as Iran's limited response to US missiles eased fears that the conflict in the Middle East would rattle energy markets.
Iran launches missiles at a US base in Qatar, with no casualties reported, leading US President Donald Trump to describe the response as “very weak” and “effectively countered”.
Oil benchmarks erased recent gains after the Iranian government chose not close the Strait of Hormuz — the shipping channel for around 20% of global oil supply each day — and appeared poised not to attack critical energy infrastructure, as previously feared.
