ASX opens higher driven by tech stocks
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
More news: Australian shares edged higher, following the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The benchmark ASX 200 was up by 60.3 points, or 0.68%, to 8,986 at 10:36am AEST. Seven of the 11 sectoral indices opened in the green.
Tech (+3.94%) was the strongest performing sector, supported by a rally in WiseTech (+5.15%), Xero (+5.25%), Technology one (+4.81%) and NextDC (+4.38%).
IperionX (+9.93%), Deep Yellow (+7.90%), Capstone Copper (+6.26%) and Droneshield (+5.63%) were the strongest performing stocks at the open.
Elsewhere, consumer staples (-0.51%) was the weakest performing sector, weighed down by Woolworths (-0.38%), Coles (-0.22%), A2 Milk (-0.62%) and Inghams Group (-0.96%).
Cleanaway Waste Management (-4.29%) was the worst performing stock after trimming its FY26 earnings guidance on higher fuel costs.
Westpac (-1.76%) also fell after flagging a $75 million hit to its RAMS mortgage portfolio sale.
On the data front, Reserve Bank deputy governor Andrew Hauser said Australia is experiencing a “big real income shock” from the US-Iran conflict, adding that medium-term inflation risks may remain to the upside.
“It is a central banker’s nightmare,” he said in New York, describing the “stagflationary shock”.
Australian shares to open lower despite Wall St wiping out all Iran war losses
The news: The Australian sharemarket is set to open lower despite gains on Wall Street overnight, as investors weighed hopes of a resolution to the Middle East conflict following the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Wall Street closed back in the green for 2026, with the S&P 500 rising over 1% to its highest level since late February, effectively wiping out all losses since the Iran war began.
The numbers: Updated at 7:47am AEST:
- ASX futures: down 44 points to 8,914 points
- Wall Street: Dow Jones up 0.63%, S&P 500 up 1.02%, Nasdaq up 1.23%
- Europe: FTSE 100 down 1.17%, CAC 40 down 0.29%, DAX down 0.26%
- Spot gold: down 0.13% to USD4,745.58 per ounce
- Oil prices: Brent up 2.74% to USD97.90/barrel, US WTI up 1.09% to USD97.61/bbl
- AUD: up 0.40% at 70.93 US cents
- Bitcoin: up 3.62% to USD73,279
The context: All three major US indices rallied on Monday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite each climbing more than 1% after Trump said Iran had reached out to his administration for peace talks, as the US began a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said that negotiations had stalled due to Iran’s insistence on maintaining its nuclear program, adding he was “sure” Iran would eventually agree to abandon its nuclear ambitions and that no deal would be reached without that concession.
Brent crude gains were capped, with US oil erasing most of its earlier session gains, leaving both benchmarks to settle near USD99 a barrel.
In equities, Goldman Sachs was the weakest stock on the Dow Jones, falling 1.9% on concern over weakness in fixed income, currencies and commodities trading revenue outweighed its profit beat.
Locally, Westpac and the Melbourne Institute will release their April consumer sentiment data at 8:30am AEST, while NAB is set to publish its March business survey at 11:30am AEST.
