Source : THE AGE NEWS
The Australian sharemarket has slipped lower after global markets retreated on the back of escalating tensions between the US and Iran.
The S&P/ASX 200 was down 7.8 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 9078.4 just after midday, with six of 11 industry sectors in negative territory. Markets are unsettled by US President Donald Trump’s comments that Iran has 10 to 15 days at most to strike a deal over its nuclear program.
Mining giant Rio Tinto lost 3.2 per cent after it unveiled a $14.1 billion full-year profit in London on Thursday. Rio will pay a fully franked 2025 final dividend of $US2.54 a share on April 16. Chief executive Simon Trott said the company was on track to achieve 3 per cent growth in copper production each year to 2030. Marking how important copper has become in miners’ portfolios, Trott said Rio’s exploration team had narrowed its scope to “put copper front and centre, and as a result, we’re now directing 85 per cent of our exploration budget towards copper”. BHP rose 1 per cent and Fortescue added 0.5 per cent in early afternoon trade, while gold miners climbed, with Northern Star up 0.5 per cent and Evolution Mining 2.3 per cent.
Insurance giant QBE bounced 7.4 per cent after reporting a 21 per cent rise in full-year net profit to $US2.16 billion ($3.1 billion). Financial stocks overall were mixed. Commonwealth Bank was flat and National Australia Bank lost 0.7 per cent while ANZ Group and Westpac advanced 0.7 per cent.
Energy stocks remained in focus as oil settled at its highest level since August on the Middle East stoush. West Texas Intermediate rose above $US66 a barrel, the second-to-last day of trading of the March contract, while Brent settled below $US72. Woodside Energy added 0.1 per cent and Santos slipped 0.6 per cent in early afternoon trade.
Tech stocks slumped on the back of more AI-induced jitters on Wall Street, with WiseTech falling 4.4 per cent and Xero down 3.6 per cent.
Food chain Guzman y Gomez slumped 11.5 per cent as underlying earnings failed to meet analyst expectations, even as it posted an 18 per cent uplift in total sales to $681.8 million in the first half of the 2026 financial year.
Comparable sales in Australia gained 4.4 per cent, and group underlying earnings rose 23.3 per cent to $33 million. Net profits came in at $10.6 million, a 44.9 per cent increase on the same period the year before. The company declared a fully franked interim dividend of 7.4¢.
The Australian dollar was trading at US70.52¢ at 12.15pm AEDT.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3 per cent for its first loss in four days. The Dow Jones dropped 267 points, or 0.5 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.3 per cent.
Booking Holdings fell 6.1 per cent in one of the market’s sharper losses, although the company behind the Booking.com, Priceline and OpenTable brands reported a profit for the latest quarter that edged past analysts’ expectations.
Its stock has been under pressure because of worries that competitors powered by artificial intelligence could upend its industry and take away customers. Booking’s stock has lost about a quarter of its value so far this year.
Such worries have been rolling through Wall Street, hitting industries as far-flung as software and legal services and trucking logistics. Investors have been punishing stocks of companies seen as under threat from AI so suddenly and aggressively that analysts have likened it to a “shoot first-ask questions later” mentality.
The doubts are hurting not just companies seen as potential victims of AI but also the private-credit companies that have lent them money. Blue Owl Capital fell 5.9 per cent to bring its loss for the year so far to 22.5 per cent, for example. Apollo Global Management fell 5.2 per cent, and Ares Management sank 3.1 per cent.
In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady after a report found the number of US workers applying for unemployment benefits had eased last week. That could be a signal that the pace of layoffs is slowing.
A solid jobs market, in turn, could delay the Federal Reserve for longer from resuming its cuts to interest rates. Fed officials said at their last meeting that they wanted to see inflation fall further before supporting further rate cuts this year.
Other US economic reports said that growth for manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region was accelerating, but potential home buyers across the country didn’t sign as many contracts in January to purchase. The US trade deficit also widened in December by more than economists expected.
