Australian shares are creeping lower despite a strong start to the week, with mining stocks dragging on the exchange as commodity prices waver.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 30.8 points by midday on Tuesday to be down 0.34 per cent to 8,863.5, as the broader All Ordinaries shed 32.5 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 9,031.3.
The move followed a mixed Wall Street session overnight, after earnings-led sell-offs in US tech stocks came up against optimism over a pause in fighting between the United States and Iran, despite contested progress in mediation talks.
“The slide in oil prices is considerable, diminishing some of the inflationary risks stemming from higher energy prices,” Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said.
“The fraught relations between the countries mean flare-ups are liable to happen; however, for now, geopolitical risk is easing.”
Oil prices have hung onto Monday’s dip, with the Brent crude benchmark trading above $US85 a barrel, down from $US102 late last week.
Miners led the bourse lower as the basic materials sector fell almost two per cent, handing back most of Monday’s rally as copper and iron ore dipped, along with BHP and Rio Tinto.
Spot gold eased to $US4,044 ($A5,785) an ounce, dragging the All Ordinaries gold sub-index almost three per cent lower.
Copper and cobalt producer IGO bucked the trend, rallying on the back of a strong June quarter production report.
Mineral sands and rare earths miner Iluka also charged higher, despite flagging delays and trimming output guidance in its quarterly update.
Utilities stocks dropped 0.9 per cent, as Origin confirmed 900,000 current and former customers were caught up in a data breach after a third party accessed personal information, including partial bank account and credit card details.
The energy segment edged up 0.3 per cent, tracking modest advances in Santos and Woodside, while Ampol advanced and Viva rallied more than five per cent after flagging a strong full-year financial result driven by conflict-driven supply shortages.
Coal miners were broadly lower, including a 1.7 per cent drop in Whitehaven, despite the producer hitting the upper end of guidance ranges across most of its production and sales.
The heavyweight financials sector traded slightly better than flat on a muted performance from the major banks. However, bigger insurers provided some upward momentum.
Consumer-facing stocks improved for a second day this week, with cyclicals surging 1.5 per cent and staples up 1.1 per cent.
In company news, Web Travel shares surged by more than a tenth after it announced a $90 million share buyback after forecasting earnings of up to $86 million in the six months to September 2026.
The Australian dollar was buying 69.90 US cents, down from 70.06 US cents on Monday at 5pm AEST.
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