The ASX remained under pressure today, as the index notched its third consecutive day of losses, weighed down by renewed fears around the Iran conflict after reports of Iranian gunboats firing on commercial vessels and seizing ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The ASX endured a tough session with heavy selling in Financials and Healthcare on a read-through from Bank of Queensland’s shrinking net interest margins and a brutal downgrade from Cochlear. The weakness came despite relatively stable overseas leads after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire extension – pushing US Futures higher during our time zone. However, with no deadline in play, the question becomes how long negotiations will be drawn out for, with higher oil prices incrementally adding to inflationary pressures each day that passes.
The ASX traded in a choppy, rotational session today with the market remaining in limbo, waiting for more news on a deal between the US and Iran. Rather than a broad risk-off move, the local bourse largely shuffled capital between sectors as traders repositioned portfolios for what a “post-conflict” environment might look like, with some recent winners - financials and energy seeing profit-taking, while technology attracted renewed buying.
SPI Futures were pricing a rise today of +82pts following strength in the US on Friday night, however the weekend news flow was anything but positive, with the Strait of Hormuz closing just as quickly as it opened. Oil prices spiked ~8% first up this morning, Gold fell ~$US40, US Futures traded down ~0.7% and Australian equities opened flat – which is where they closed – not a bad effort considering.
The ASX 200 slipped today, ending the session lower, awaiting further clarity on negotiations around the US-Iran ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The market snapped a three-week winning streak after the sharp rebound seen earlier in the month, though the pullback looks more like a period of consolidation rather than a meaningful shift in the broader trend.
The ASX wavered today as investors balanced improving global risk sentiment against fresh domestic data. The local market initially opened higher following record closes on Wall Street, but struggled to hold early gains as traders digested Australia’s latest labour market report.
The ASX looked set for a strong day early, but only finished marginally higher. We probably sound like a broken record at times – the ASX will struggle to push meaningfully higher without the banks leading, but today was the perfect example. The index briefly pushed above the 9,000 level intraday, though selling in financials capped the advance.
Today’s session kicked off with a strong open with the index pushing through the 9,000 level for the first time since early March before giving back some ground through the day, ultimately consolidating through the afternoon into the close.
The ASX finished lower today though the move was somewhat contained considering the escalation in rhetoric around the Middle East conflict. The local market entered the session digesting the breakdown of peace talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan over the weekend, with President Donald Trump announcing plans for a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, causing a +7% spike in oil prices.
The local market softened today, though not by much, with the ASX200 index still capping off a strong week, rising +3.3% over the period as markets continued to rebound following the US-Iran ceasefire. Risk appetite cooled with investors trimming positions ahead of talks between US and Iranian officials in Pakistan over the weekend, while uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz and the resumption of tanker traffic continues to cloud the near-term outlook for energy markets.
The ASX endured a tough session with heavy selling in Financials and Healthcare on a read-through from Bank of Queensland’s shrinking net interest margins and a brutal downgrade from Cochlear. The weakness came despite relatively stable overseas leads after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire extension – pushing US Futures higher during our time zone. However, with no deadline in play, the question becomes how long negotiations will be drawn out for, with higher oil prices incrementally adding to inflationary pressures each day that passes.
The ASX traded in a choppy, rotational session today with the market remaining in limbo, waiting for more news on a deal between the US and Iran. Rather than a broad risk-off move, the local bourse largely shuffled capital between sectors as traders repositioned portfolios for what a “post-conflict” environment might look like, with some recent winners - financials and energy seeing profit-taking, while technology attracted renewed buying.
SPI Futures were pricing a rise today of +82pts following strength in the US on Friday night, however the weekend news flow was anything but positive, with the Strait of Hormuz closing just as quickly as it opened. Oil prices spiked ~8% first up this morning, Gold fell ~$US40, US Futures traded down ~0.7% and Australian equities opened flat – which is where they closed – not a bad effort considering.
The ASX 200 slipped today, ending the session lower, awaiting further clarity on negotiations around the US-Iran ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The market snapped a three-week winning streak after the sharp rebound seen earlier in the month, though the pullback looks more like a period of consolidation rather than a meaningful shift in the broader trend.
The ASX wavered today as investors balanced improving global risk sentiment against fresh domestic data. The local market initially opened higher following record closes on Wall Street, but struggled to hold early gains as traders digested Australia’s latest labour market report.
The ASX looked set for a strong day early, but only finished marginally higher. We probably sound like a broken record at times – the ASX will struggle to push meaningfully higher without the banks leading, but today was the perfect example. The index briefly pushed above the 9,000 level intraday, though selling in financials capped the advance.
Today’s session kicked off with a strong open with the index pushing through the 9,000 level for the first time since early March before giving back some ground through the day, ultimately consolidating through the afternoon into the close.
The ASX finished lower today though the move was somewhat contained considering the escalation in rhetoric around the Middle East conflict. The local market entered the session digesting the breakdown of peace talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan over the weekend, with President Donald Trump announcing plans for a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, causing a +7% spike in oil prices.
The local market softened today, though not by much, with the ASX200 index still capping off a strong week, rising +3.3% over the period as markets continued to rebound following the US-Iran ceasefire. Risk appetite cooled with investors trimming positions ahead of talks between US and Iranian officials in Pakistan over the weekend, while uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz and the resumption of tanker traffic continues to cloud the near-term outlook for energy markets.
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