Source : THE AGE NEWS
The Australian sharemarket has edged lower at the open while oil prices have climbed this morning as the US and Iran offered conflicting comments on efforts to end the war.
The S&P/ASX 200 was down 3.3 points to 8531 in early trade, with six of 11 industry sectors in negative territory. It comes after the bourse surged 1.9 per cent on Wednesday.
Oil prices are higher in early trade on Thursday with Brent, the international standard, adding 0.9 per cent to $US103.10 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate rose 0.9 per cent to $US91.13 as markets digested the latest from the Middle East conflict. While the White House insisted peace talks with Iran are ongoing, Tehran rejected the US overtures and issued its own conditions, including sovereign control over the critical Strait of Hormuz waterway.
“Markets are positioning for a conflict resolution, despite lingering strategic ambiguity,” said Elias Haddad at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. “Ultimately, Iran’s response to the US de-escalation pivot will decide whether peak fear is behind us or still ahead.”
On the local sharemarket, energy stocks advanced on the back of rising oil and gas prices. Woodside Energy and Santos both gained 1.2 per cent, Yancoal added 1.8 per cent and Ampol was 0.6 per cent higher.
Mining stocks are mixed, with BHP up 0.1 per cent, while fellow iron ore heavyweights Fortescue and Rio Tinto each added 0.3 per cent. Among gold miners, Northern Star rose 0.9 per cent, Evolution Mining dipped 0.3 per cent and Newmont lost 1.8 per cent.
Financial stocks are mixed with Commonwealth Bank and Westpac both up 0.3 per cent while ANZ Bank gained 0.4 per cent., Nation Australia Bank was down 0.2 per cent in early trade.
Tech stocks slid lower with WiseTech down 0.5 per cent and Xero 1.6 per cent lower.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.5 per cent in its latest flip-flop after the United States delivered a plan to pause the war to Iran. The Dow Jones added 305 points, or 0.7 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.8 per cent.
But the moves were shaky, and the S&P 500 briefly came close to erasing all of its jump, which maxed out at 1.2 per cent during the morning. Financial markets have swung sharply since the war began more than three weeks ago, and many of the reversals have struck hour to hour as uncertainty continues to dominate about how long the war will last.
Keeping up that uncertainty on Wednesday: Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said in an interview with Iranian state TV that his government has not engaged in talks to end the war, “and we do not plan on any negotiations.”
Iran also launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries, including an assault that sparked a huge fire at Kuwait International Airport, while coming under attack itself. The US military deployed paratroopers and more Marines to the region.
Optimism, though, was nevertheless evident in financial markets worldwide. Stock indexes climbed more than 1 per cent in London, Paris and Shanghai. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 leaped 2.9 per cent.
In the bond market, Treasury yields also eased. That could help soften the rise in rates for mortgages and other kinds of borrowing since the beginning of the war. That in turn could lessen the pressure on the economy.
Even gold, which has been one of the investment world’s worst losers through the war, rose. It climbed 3.4 per cent to settle at $US4552.30 per ounce.
Gold’s price had briefly gotten near $US5400 early this month. That was before Treasury yields rushed higher on worries that high oil prices would drive inflation upward and prevent the Federal Reserve from cutting interest rates. When bonds are paying more in interest, they make gold, which pays its investors nothing, less attractive in comparison.
On Wall Street, Arm Holdings soared 16.4 per cent after the UK company announced a suite of chips for data centres and artificial-intelligence technology.
Robinhood Markets rallied 5 per cent to help lead US stocks after its board authorised a program to send up to $US1.5 billion ($2.2 billion) to shareholders by buying back the company’s stock.
Billionaire Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite maker SpaceX is considering a fundraising target in its IPO that would dwarf the previous largest ever debut, according to Bloomberg, as it moves forward with listing plans.
The company is weighing a ballpark figure of about $US75 billion in its initial public offering, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. SpaceX has discussed with potential investors the prospect of raising more than $US70 billion, some of the people said.
The stock prices for the parent companies of YouTube and Instagram held relatively steady after a jury found them liable in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit that aimed to hold social media platforms responsible for harm to children using their services. Alphabet added 0.2 per cent, and Meta Platforms rose 0.3 per cent.
With AP, Bloomberg
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