ASX opens lower weighed down by miners
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More news: Australian shares opened lower in early trade, weighed down by the mining, healthcare and industrial sectors as the Middle East conflict rages on.
The benchmark ASX 200 was down by 30.3 points, or 0.35%, to 8,598 at 10:31am AEDT. Five of the 11 sectoral indices opened in the red.
Energy (+0.99%) was the strongest performing sector at the open, supported by Woodside Energy (+1.22%), Yancoal (+1.82%), Viva Energy (+2.42%) and Beach Energy (+1.73%) after Iran’s new supreme leader sought the closure of Strait of Hormuz which led to the surge in oil prices.
Whitehaven Coal (+5.05%), Alcoa (+4.22%), New Hope (+3.66%) and Ora Banda (+3.35%) were also among the best performing stocks.
Elsewhere, mining (-1.78%) was the weakest performing sector, dragged down by BHP (-2.32%), Evolution Mining (-1.86%), Lynas Earths (-1.42%) and BlueScope Steel (-1.05%).
Northern Star (-14.27%) tumbled and was the worst performing stock across the ASX 200 after slashing its FY26 production guidance for the second time following weaker-than-expected operational performance.
Block (-4.89%), Life 360 (-4.27%), Zip (-4.20%) and Amcor (-4%) followed suit as the worst performers at the open.
Australian shares to open lower as Iran’s new leader vows to keep Hormuz closed
The news: Australian shares are set to open lower after Wall Street and global markets fell on Thursday, as attacks on Gulf oil shipments and fresh warnings from Iran dashed hopes of a near-term de-escalation in the Middle East conflict, sending oil prices higher and stoking inflation concerns.
The numbers: Updated at 7:54am AEDT:
- ASX futures: down 28 points to 8,592.
- Wall Street: Dow Jones down 1.56%, S&P 500 down 1.52% and the Nasdaq down 1.78%.
- Europe: CAC 40 down 0.71%, DAX down 0.21% and FTSE 100 down 0.47%.
- Spot gold: down 1.95% to USD5,079 per ounce.
- Oil prices: Brent up 9.93% to USD101.13/bbl and US WTI up 10.36% to USD96.30/bbl.
- AUD: down 1.05% at 70.76 US cents.
- Bitcoin: up 0.01% to USD70,197.
The context: All three major US indices closed lower overnight as Brent crude futures rose 10.4% to around USD101 a barrel, amid concerns over whether reserve releases would be enough to offset supply disruptions from the Middle East.
Adding to supply concerns, Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed as a “tool to pressure the enemy,” according to comments translated by Reuters. Tehran has warned global markets to prepare for oil prices reaching USD200 a barrel, though US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said oil prices are unlikely to hit that range.
On the data front, the US Commerce Department showed US imports fell 0.7% in January from the previous month, while exports rose 5.5%. Economists polled by Reuters expect the Federal Reserve to deliver its first interest rate cut of the year in June.
In bond markets, inflation concerns outweighed safe-haven demand, pushing yields higher globally. The US 2-year Treasury yield rose to 3.75%, marking its biggest one-day increase since May 2025.
Locally, the Australian Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to publish multiple job holders data for December at 11:30am AEDT.
