Australia’s share market is creeping higher, led by a rally in energy stocks as oil jumped to six-week highs, after the US and Iran intensified attacks on each other over the weekend.
The main S&P/ASX200 index had gained 1.4 points by midday on Monday, to be up 0.02 per cent to 8,798.1, as the All Ordinaries improved by 2.6 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 8,981.4.
“The war between the US and Iran is escalating again – and in a way that is resembling the tumultuous early days of the conflict in March and April,” Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said.
“Traffic out of the Persian Gulf has reportedly fallen to a trickle, suggesting further upside risk to oil prices that could see crude gap higher today.”
Brent crude topped $US90 a barrel for the first time since early June, after several days of the US enforcing a military blockade of Iranian ports and the Middle East nation targeting ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point for a fifth of global crude supplies.
ASX-listed energy stocks outperformed the exchange with the sector up almost two per cent by midday, tracking with strong leads from Woodside, Santos, and refinery operators Ampol and Viva Energy.
Coal miners also performed well, while uranium stocks rallied as Deep Yellow awarded $34 million in construction contracts for its flagship Tumas project in Namibia.
The heavyweight financials segment improved by 0.2 per cent, tracking modest gains from the big four banks, while insurer QBE advanced almost one per cent after announcing it would redeem $500 million in subordinated notes issued in 2020.
Non-energy miners continued to struggle, with the raw materials sector down 0.3 per cent as BHP traded flat and Rio Tinto lost 1.4 per cent to $158.70.
Gold producers were mixed but bigger players were largely sluggish, as the precious metal traded at $US4,004 ($A5,730) an ounce.
South32 improved its production across multiple projects and boosted its June quarter sales by 15 per cent, helping lift the mixed miner’s share price 1.4 per cent to $3.96.
Consumer-facing stocks were subdued, as staples improved by 0.3 per cent and cyclicals traded roughly flat.
Shares in Dan Murphy’s and BWS owner Endeavour fell more than three per cent after a downgrade from Morgan Stanley, which noted a limited recovery in alcohol demand.
Meanwhile, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission secured a record $830 million in civil penalty orders in the 2025/26 financial year and will return $643.5 million in remediation, refunds, and payments back to Australians in connection with its enforcement work.
The Australian dollar was buying 69.88 US cents, up slightly from 69.84 US cents on Friday at 5pm.
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