The local share market has plunged and oil prices have surged as the US-Israeli war on Iran intensifies.
In early trading on Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 3.2 per cent to 8,566.3, its lowest level since mid-December after nearly $100 billion in value was erased from the bourse’s market capitalisation.
The losses put the index on track for its worst day since April 2025, when the ASX200 plunged 4.2 per cent amid Donald Trump’s intensifying trade war.
Brent crude spiked to $US107 a barrel, the commodity’s highest price since August 2022.
It had been changing hands at just over $60 at the start of 2026.
The strategic implications of the spiralling war in Iran were multi-faceted but the economic ones could be reduced to oil markets and supply shocks, Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda said.
“Increasingly, energy supply is being threatened, mostly due to disrupted trade flow through the Strait of Hormuz, but now increasingly because of attacks on energy infrastructure as a tactic of war,” he said.
Every sector of the ASX was in the red except for energy, which was up 1.6 per cent.
The materials sector, which includes mining, was the biggest loser, dropping 4.7 per cent.
BHP was down 5.4 per cent, Rio Tinto retreated 4.2 per cent and Fortescue lost 3.4 per cent.
Gold wasn’t proving to be much of a safe haven, with the yellow metal changing hands for $US5,082 an ounce, down $75 from Friday.
Goldminers Evolution and Northern Star were down 5.0 per cent and 4.3 per cent respectively.
Copper miners Sandfire and Capstone were the biggest losers in the ASX200 in morning trade, both with losses of slightly over nine per cent.
All of the big four banks were deep in the red, with CBA falling 3.8 per cent, NAB and Westpac losing 3.4 per cent and ANZ subtracting 3.1 per cent.
Just seven companies – all in the energy sector – out of the 200 in the ASX’s main benchmark were in the green at about 11am.
Woodside was up 2.0 per cent, Santos had climbed 2.1 per cent and Whitehaven Coal lifted 3.1 per cent.
Karoon Energy was the biggest gainer, climbing 9.1 per cent.
The losses put the ASX200 down 1.8 per cent since the start of the year.
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