Australia’s share market is on track for a fourth straight session of losses, as the ongoing Middle East conflict and resulting energy shock continue to weigh on sentiment.
On Friday, the S&P/ASX200 fell 19.3 points by midday, down 0.22 per cent, as the broader All Ordinaries dipped 25.4 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 8,998.8.
Wall Street retreated from record highs overnight, after Iran seized two commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz overnight and as the US vowed to attack ships that laid mines in the waterway, which is a key transit lane for a fifth of global oil supplies.
“Markets remain jittery as tensions in the Middle East simmer and what was assumed to be inexorable progress towards a peace deal between the US and Iran hit bumps in the road,” Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said.
“Market participants remain hopeful that it is in both sides’ interests to continue talks and reach a deal, but it will require meaningful compromise on the US side and an unlikely softening by hardliners in Iran, who are reportedly resisting a deal and all but control the Strait of Hormuz.”
As oil prices rose again, energy and utilities stocks outperformed, with only four of the market’s 11 sectors trading higher.
Oil and gas giants Woodside and Santos, along with refinery operators Viva and Ampol, all charged more than 1.5 per cent higher as Brent crude hovered near $US100 a barrel.
Coal producers and uranium stocks were broadly weaker.
BHP and Rio Tinto dragged on the bourse, despite iron ore and copper futures holding onto their recent gains.
Fortescue tumbled 3.7 per cent to $20.19 after it revised down shipment guidance from its Iron Bridge project for the 2026 financial year due to bad weather disruptions.
Gold miners were under pressure as gold eased to near $US4,700 ($A6,590) an ounce, although US-headquartered Newmont, which owns three mines in NSW, bucked the trend with a 2.3 per cent uplift on the back of strong quarterly earnings.
Lithium miner PLS, formerly Pilbara Minerals, also improved after it boosted production 12 per cent in the March quarter, taking advantage of higher realised spodumene prices despite a dip in sales.
Meanwhile, critical minerals producer IGO plummeted roughly 11 per cent after a production downgrade at its Greenbushes project.
The major banks continued to sell off, with NAB under particular pressure, dipping to a nearly four-month low of $39.94.
Most major insurers were in the red, except for Suncorp, which bolted almost six per cent higher after inking a reinsurance deal worth up to $2.4 billion in protection over five years.
IT stocks underperformed the wider market, dropping 1.4 per cent in a broad-based sell-off led by WiseTech, Technology One, and Life360.
The Australian dollar was buying 71.33 US cents, down from 71.52 US cents on Thursday at 5pm, fading since Tuesday as risk sentiment deteriorated.
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