The Australian sharemarket was flat on Monday morning with US President Donald Trump’s pause on further strikes against Iran not enough to shake fully traders’ jitters about the war ahead of the August reporting season.
The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 27 points – or 0.3 per cent – at the open on Monday, before paring back losses to trade less than 0.1 per cent below its previous close at 10.45am AEST with six out of 11 sectors down.
Oil fell on Monday morning as Asian trading resumed, with global benchmark Brent Crude easing to $US79 as Trump’s announcement that he was calling off a series of strikes on Iran stoked hopes for a peace deal which would see the Strait of Hormuz reopen.
“As things stand, agreeing to Iranian demands might seem like a viable option, but will be a very difficult choice to make, as it would leave [commodity], supplies from the region perpetually subject to political volatility in the region,” Barclays commodities researcher Ampareet Singh told clients on Sunday.
On the ASX, utilities were the bright spot, with the sector up 1.1 per cent, led by a 2.5 per cent surge in Origin Energy as the company’s share price continues to recover following news of a data breach last month. Meanwhile, energy stocks fell as the price of oil eased, with Woodside and Santos both down close to 1.5 per cent.
The information technology sector was also down close to 1.3 per cent, as software stocks slid ahead of the August earnings season which could unveil further impacts on their businesses wrought by artificial intelligence. Xero fell 0.8 per cent, while WiseTech Global was down 0.7 per cent. Data centres operator NextDC fell 2.1 per cent.
Stocks in Focus
Steadfast Group was the biggest gainer within the ASX 200, rising 4.5 per cent at the open after announcing that the consortium bidding to take the insurer private had substantially completed its due diligence investigations.
But that surge was well outflanked by a 15.9 per cent jump in shares in FleetPartners who announced they had received a $770 million takeover bid from SG Fleet after market close on Friday.
Meanwhile, IperionX slumped 6.9 per cent after the critical minerals company announced that its ultimate parent company would be redomiciled to Texas and listed directly on the Nasdaq.
And retailer conglomerate Premier Investments also fell 4.3 per cent, as investors brace for an earnings season expected to show further hits to consumer-facing brands as warnings of a downturn in local economic growth mount.