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The ASX 200 posted its best session in almost a year today after the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire, triggering a sharp unwind of the war risk premium that has dominated markets over the past six weeks. The ceasefire, reportedly brokered through diplomatic channels including Pakistan, came just hours after US President Donald Trump warned he would escalate attacks on Iran’s infrastructure if shipping routes remained blocked. The sudden shift toward de-escalation removed one of the market’s biggest macro risks and sparked a broad relief rally across global equities as the local index moved back to within ~3% of all-time highs.
Investors rushed back into risk assets following the announcement that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen to commercial shipping, with oil prices plummeting, bond yields falling and the Aussie dollar stronger signalling the belief that the inflationary effects of this past month’s conflict may be short lived. Rate-sensitive names were bid up with Technology stocks leading the charge and Materials not far behind, while Energy names came off the boil as crude oil prices fell almost 15%.
- ASX 200: 8,951.80 / +223.02pts / +2.56%
- AUD/USD: 0.7070 / +0.01 / +1.38%
- Best sectors: IT +7.31%, Materials +4.47%, REITs +3.91%
- Worst sectors: Consumer Staples −0.84%, Utilities −4.18%, Energy −7.15%
- Technology stocks surged as investors flooded back into rate-sensitive growth names, with WiseTech Global (ASX: WTC) +10.70%, Xero (ASX: XRO) +6.54% and TechnologyOne (ASX: TNE) +6.79% all posting strong sessions as falling oil prices reduced inflation fears and supported the sector broadly.
- Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) +7.05% advanced after announcing a 50-50 joint venture with DataBank to develop a 32MW data centre in Los Angeles, targeting demand from cloud and AI infrastructure customers.
- Gold stocks were a standout, with the sector rallying hard as bullion pushed higher – Greatland Resources (ASX: GGP) +14.00% surged on March-quarter production of 82k ounces, Bellevue Gold (ASX: BGL) +18.85% jumped on its quarterly update, while Regis Resources (ASX: RRL) +7.59% and Newmont (ASX: NEM) +4.84% also surged as investors rotated back into precious metal exposures.
- BHP (ASX: BHP) +3.04% climbed as the broader materials sector benefited from improving risk sentiment.
- Qantas (ASX: QAN) +9.42% rallied sharply as the collapse in oil prices improved the outlook for airline fuel costs while competitor Virgin Australia (ASX:VGN) +11.74% also rebounded strongly.
- Energy stocks were the clear losers of the session as crude prices collapsed on the ceasefire announcement – Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS) −10.45% suffered its worst session since March 2020, while Karoon Energy (ASX: KAR) −13.07%, Santos (ASX: STO) −4.08%, Ampol (ASX: ALD) −3.92% and Viva Energy (ASX: VEA) −8.33% all fell heavily.
- DroneShield (ASX: DRO) −13.53% dropped heavily after CEO Oleg Vornik resigned and chairman Peter James announced plans to retire next month, raising fresh concerns around governance following last year’s large insider share sales.
- Pro Medicus (ASX: PME) +8.28% rallied after signing a five-year $23m contract with the University of Maryland Medical System to deploy its Visage imaging platform.
- Flight Centre (ASX: FLT) +7.30% gained after announcing the sale of its 47% stake in Pedal Group, the owner of 99 Bikes, for $61.7m.
- Oil: Collapsed, trading around $US94.93/barrel (WTI) −15.95%
- Gold: up +$US126/oz during our time zone, trading $US4,832/oz around our close.
- Asian Markets: China +2.43%, Hong Kong +2.96% and the Nikkei −1.44%.
- Global Futures: S&P 500 E-Mini +2.67%, Dow E-Mini +2.42%, FTSE +2.84%
