ASX slips – The ASX200 fell 1.5% to 8505.3, its lowest close in seven weeks, as rising oil prices linked to renewed Middle East tensions fed inflation fears and dragged sectors from materials to real estate.
Australia’s sharemarket slid to a seven-week low on Monday, hit by firmer oil prices after fresh attacks in the Middle East and growing unease over inflation.
The S&P/ASX200 dropped 125.5 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 8505.3, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 135.2 points, also down 1.5 per cent, to 8735.4. The move followed a weak finish on global equities, after bond yields surged over inflation concerns and oil prices rose.
Oil’s jump was tied to renewed pressure around Iran. with Brent crude advancing above $US110 a barrel after adding almost 8 per cent last week.. West Texas Intermediate rose above $US107.. President Donald Trump posted on social media on Sunday that: “For Iran. the Clock is Ticking. and they better get moving. FAST. or there won’t be anything left of them.. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!”
In commentary that captured the market mood. IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said last week’s Trump-Xi meeting offered “a glimmer of optimism”. but China “has since shown little appetite for helping to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.” Sycamore added: “And why would it?. President [Donald] Trump has been Beijing’s chief antagonist for over a decade. and with ample strategic reserves on hand. China can afford to let the US sit in an uncomfortable spot of its own making for a little longer.”
Sector moves reflected the same tension between higher fuel costs and a higher-rate environment. Energy stocks were the only sector to record a gain for the day, while basic materials, industrials and real estate investment trusts weighed as traders priced in the prospect of sustained high costs.
Among energy shares, Woodside and Santos each rose more than 2.6 per cent.. Brent crude hovered near $US111 a barrel. and the day’s lift also came after Santos delivered first oil from its Pikka project in Alaska.. Refinery owners Viva and Ampol advanced, while coal producers were mixed and uranium stocks continued to sell off.
Company-specific pressure cut through elsewhere.. Industrials fell 4 per cent after Brambles’ value plummeted by more than a fifth. following a shock profit guidance downgrade that cut its expected 2026 financial year profit range roughly in half.. Miners were also under pressure: basic materials fell 2.8 per cent as iron ore and copper futures retreated. dragging BHP. Rio Tinto and Fortescue.
That commodity softness arrived after China’s year-to-April industrial production fell to 4.1 per cent, missing forecasts of 6 per cent.
Gold also added to the strain for metals-exposed investors, with gold falling to $US4544 ($6362) an ounce and the gold sub-index down 4 per cent, weighing on ASX-listed miners. There was one bright spot in the rare earths space, however, with Lynas Rare Earths up 5.5 per cent to $18.93.
Financials were sluggish. down 0.3 per cent. as CommBank shares continued a modest recovery from the previous week’s $30 billion sell-down. while NAB. Westpac and ANZ lost ground.. Consumer-facing stocks fell 0.9 per cent amid broad-based weakness, with real estate and healthcare stocks under particular pressure.
The sharpest single-company move came from agribusiness group Elders, whose shares plunged by almost 23 per cent after costs from its cloud-based migration weighed on its first-half earnings.
The Australian dollar was buying 71.48 US cents on Monday afternoon, down from 71.59 US cents on Friday at 5pm.. Across the Pacific on Friday. Wall Street weakened as the S&P 500 fell 1.2 per cent from its all-time high set the day before. the Dow Jones dropped 537 points. or 1.1 per cent. and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.5 per cent from its own record; technology stocks were a key driver in that sharp turnaround.
The pattern of Monday’s market move sits across the same chain of events: oil prices were lifted by renewed Middle East attacks and comments from President Donald Trump. energy shares held up while other sectors faced pressure from a sustained high fuel cost and interest rate environment. and commodity weakness later fed through again via miners. with China industrial production growth missing forecasts.
In US trading, Nvidia fell 4.4 per cent and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500.. Nvidia had entered the day with a gain of more than 26 per cent for the year so far. after technology shares tumbled in a sharp reversal from their meteoric rises earlier this year—an advance that also drew criticism that the sector had gone too far.
ASX200 seven-week low oil prices Brent crude inflation fears Middle East tensions Iran Woodside Santos Brambles Elders miners China industrial production