Banks, miners drive ASX higher on Iran hopes; Oil slides

Summary

Banks, miners drive ASX higher on Iran hopes; Oil slides Updated ,first published The Australian sharemarket has made a bright start to the session, following Wall Street higher, on rising hopes that the United States and Iran can agree to a peace deal to end the war in the Middle East. The S&P/ASX 200 was up 49.6 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 8730.1 in early trade, with four of its 11 industry sectors in positive territory. On Tuesday, the bourse dropped 0.2 per cent as the Reserve Bank unveiled its third-straight interest rate rise, with governor Michele Bullock warning that inflation would remain high for at least another six months. The Australian dollar was trading at US72.08¢ at 10.32am AEST. US President Donald Trump said “great progress” has been made on a final agreement to end the war with Iran. US efforts to move ships through the Strait of Hormuz will be paused, but a naval blockade will remain in place, Trump said in a Truth Social post. His Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier said America has achieved its objectives in its military campaign. “Operation Epic Fury is concluded,” Rubio said. “We’re not cheering for an additional situation to occur.” The news sent oil prices lower. West Texas Intermediate dropped toward $US100 a barrel, after sliding 3.9 per cent on Tuesday, while Brent closed near $US110. “Our base-case for markets and the economy has been that there will be a near-term resolution between the US and Iran, allowing for energy prices to fall after the Strait of Hormuz is reopened,” said Chris Senyek at Wolfe Research. Local energy stocks slid lower on the declining crude prices, with Woodside Energy down 1.3 per cent and Santos dropping 0.5 per cent. Local refiners Ampol and Viva Energy also retreated, down 0.9 and 0.4 per cent, respectively. AGL edged up 0.2 per cent as it announced it had increased the lower end of its 2026 financial year guidance. It said it expected underlying profit after tax of $610 million to $680 million, up from a previous guidance of $580 million to $680 million. “AGL is well-placed for at least the next three months during the global fuel crisis, with current diesel storage near capacity for the generation assets, and expects ongoing supply as an essential services provider,” the company said. Financial stocks advanced across the board following Tuesday’s rate rise, with Commonwealth Bank up 1.5 per cent, Westpac 1.8 per cent, National Australia Bank 2.2 per cent and ANZ Bank 1 per cent. Iron ore miners were also stronger in early trade, with BHP adding 0.7 per cent, Rio Tinto 0.1 per cent and Fortescue 0.3 per cent. Gold miners lost ground, with Northern Star shedding 1.6 per cent and Evolution Mining 0.2 per cent. Toll road operator Atlas Arteria rose 0.4 per cent to $4.81 after knocking back a $4.75-a-share takeover bid from its biggest shareholder IFM Investors, saying it was too low. IFM launched the bid last month in a deal valuing the company at up to $7.4 billion, arguing Atlas has underperformed on returns, strategy and operations. The firm already owns 34 per cent of Atlas. Technology stocks were mixed, with WiseTech up 1.1 and data centre operator NextDC up 0.6 per cent, but TecHnology One was flat and family tracking app Life360 lost 3.1 per cent. Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 climbed 0.8 per cent to top its prior all-time high set at the end of last week. The Dow Jones added 356 points, or 0.7 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite set its own record after rallying 1 per cent. Even with the war ongoing, the US stock market has remained remarkably resilient on its record-setting run. That’s in large part due to the strong profits that US companies have reported for the first three months of 2026 despite the rise in oil prices since the end of February. “This has been a ‘why ask why’ market,” according to Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “You just have to go with it.” Even though many risks are still weighing on the market, “investors are looking at earnings” and how much companies are spending on AI data centres and other investments, he said. Pinterest jumped 6.9 per cent after the online bulletin board topped Wall Street’s first-quarter sales and profit targets as its number of active monthly users jumped 11 per cent to 631 million. AB InBev likewise topped analysts’ profit forecasts, and it credited growth for its Corona, Stella Artois and Michelob Ultra brands outside of their home markets, among other factors. “Cheers to beer,” CEO Michel Doukeris said, as the company’s stock trading in the US climbed 8.7 per cent. They helped offset a drop for Palantir Technologies, which fell 6.9 per cent even though it reported stronger results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Its stock has struggled this year on worries about increased competition, like many software companies have. Its stock is also coming off a huge run where it more than doubled in each of the last three years. In the US bond market, Treasury yields eased following oil’s drop in price and reports on the US economy that came in mixed. One report said growth for US services businesses unexpectedly decelerated last month, with some companies saying the war is slowing spending. A separate report said US employers were advertising slightly more job openings at the end of March than economists expected, an encouraging signal for the job market. With AP, Bloomberg The Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.