Source : THE AGE NEWS
The Australian sharemarket has slid lower at the open despite more gains on Wall Street overnight, while oil prices retreated after President Donald Trump expressed optimism about securing a permanent ceasefire with Iran ahead of the expiry of the current truce next week.
The S&P/ASX 200 was 46.5 points, or 0.5 per cent, lower to 8908.5 in early trade, with eight of 11 industry sectors in negative territory.
Energy stocks climbed, with Woodside Energy and Santos each adding 0.4 per cent while Ampol advanced 0.5 per cent. Viva Energy remains in a trading halt after a fire at its Geelong refinery on Wednesday evening. After gains overnight, global crude benchmark Brent slipped 1.4 per cent this morning to about $US98 ($136) a barrel, paring gains from the previous session. US oil shed 1.3 per cent $US93.45 at 11.09am AEST.
Financial stocks lost ground with Commonwealth Bank falling 0.7 per cent, Westpac 1.1 per cent, National Australia Bank 1.2 per cent and ANZ Bank 0.2 per cent. Buy now, pay later outfit Zip jumped 11.2 per cent after it upgraded its full-year earnings guidance.
Mining stocks are mixed with Fortescue up 0.7 per cent in early trade while BHP dipped 0.3 per cent and Rio Tinto 0.1 per cent. Gold stocks slumped, with Northern Star down 1.9 per cent and Evolution Mining 3.4 per cent.
Tech stocks are stronger, adding to their surge from this week as investors pile back into the sector. WiseTech edged up 0.1 per cent in early trade while Xero added 0.3 per cent and Technology One gained 0.6 per cent.
The Australian dollar was trading at US71.60¢ at 10.28am AEST.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent, a day after topping its prior all-time high set in January, for its 11th gain in 12 days. The Dow Jones added 115 points, or 0.2 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4 per cent.
US stocks have leaped more than 10 per cent since hitting a low in late March, driven by hopes for an end to the war or something that could avert a worst-case scenario for the global economy. Now, the wait is on to see if such hopes were prescient or just wishful thinking.
Pakistan’s powerful army chief met on Thursday with Iran’s parliament speaker as part of efforts to press for an extension to a ceasefire that has paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the US and the Islamic Republic.
“The key upside risk for the market is that peace talks between the US and Iran break down,” ING Bank strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote Thursday. “This isn’t an unrealistic scenario, given that US and Iranian demands remain fairly wide apart.”
In the meantime, big US companies are continuing to deliver growth in profits for the start of 2026 that’s even better than analysts expected. Such growth is the lifeblood of the stock market, whose level tends to follow the track of corporate profits over the long term.
PepsiCo rose 2.3 per cent after reporting better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Customers bought more snacks during the quarter, after the company said in February it would cut prices on Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos and Tostitos chips to win back people frustrated by high prices.
After the closing bell, Netflix gave a forecast for the second quarter that fell short of analysts expectations, sending the shares down in extended trading.
The streaming pioneer also announced that chairman and co-founder Reed Hastings is stepping down from the board after 29 years to pursue philanthropy and personal interests.
Technology stocks also broadly got some support after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., an industry heavyweight, reported stronger revenue and profit for the start of 2026 than analysts expected. TSMC’s chief financial officer Wendell Huang said the company expects strong demand to continue into the spring.
Allbirds slumped 35.8 per cent, but that gave back only a portion of its 582 per cent surge from the day before. The company formerly known for sneakers is pivoting to the artificial-intelligence industry and hopes to rent out the use of high-powered AI chips as a service.
