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The Australian sharemarket has retreated at the open while oil prices surged after the United States and Iran ramped up their battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
The S&P\/ASX 200 was down 21.4 points, or 0.2 per cent, in early trade, with seven of 11 industry sectors lower.<\/p>\n
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Wall Street retreated as worries over AI stocks and hostilities in the Middle East weighed on investors.AP<\/p>\n
The prices for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, and US oil climbed about 10 per cent overnight after the United States and Iran each said the Strait of Hormuz is under its control. The gains for oil prices accelerated immediately after US President Donald Trump said he\u2019s reinstating a blockade to prevent tankers carrying Iranian oil from using the strait. He also called for 20 per cent payments on all cargo shipped through it to reimburse the United States for providing protection in the area.<\/p>\n
Brent and US oil extended gains in early Asian trade, adding another 2.6 per cent. Brent was fetching $US85.48 per barrel and US oil was at $US80.18 per barrel at 10.25am AEST. Fighting in the region has kept oil tankers from using the strait to deliver crude to customers from the Persian Gulf, which drives up fuel prices worldwide.<\/p>\n
The developments drove local energy stocks higher in early trade: Woodside Energy added 3.3 per cent and Santos rose 2.6 per cent, while the refiners also jumped, with Ampol up 2.8 per cent and Viva Energy 4.1 per cent higher.<\/p>\n
Related Article Mining stocks are mixed, with BHP rising 0.4 per cent and Fortescue up 0.3 per cent, but Rio Tinto dipped 0.1 per cent. Gold stocks lost ground as the price of the precious metal fell below $US4000 an ounce, on the back of the escalating hostilities in the Middle East and remarks by Fed governor Christopher Waller that policymakers may need to raise rates in the near term to combat inflation. Northern Star dove 3.2 per cent and Evolution Mining slid 1.8 per cent in early trade.<\/p>\n Financial stocks lost ground, with ANZ, National Australia Bank and Westpac each shedding 0.9 per cent, while Commonwealth Bank lost 0.5 per cent.<\/p>\n Technology stocks are mixed, with WiseTech jumping 1.8 per cent, Xero up 0.3 per cent and Technology One adding 0.4 per cent, but NEXTDC lost 3.2 per cent and Megaport was 2.2 per cent lower.<\/p>\n The Australian dollar was trading at US69.15\u00a2.<\/p>\n On Wall Street the S&P 500 fell 0.8 per cent, coming off its fourth winning week in the past five. The Dow Jones dropped 138 points, or 0.3 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.6 per cent.<\/p>\n Chip stocks like Micron Technology helped lead the way lower. Micron fell 4.4 per cent, eating into what had been a stellar rise of 243.1 per cent for the year so far.<\/p>\n Real profits are behind the rise because the AI rush has created surging demand for computer memory and other computing building blocks. But worries are rising that stock prices have shot too high and that the demand may not be sustainable if AI doesn\u2019t deliver as much profit and productivity as expected.<\/p>\n Nvidia fell 3.5 per cent. Because it\u2019s the largest stock on Wall Street by value, thanks to the euphoria around AI, it was the single heaviest weight on the S&P 500.<\/p>\n The day\u2019s losses began in Asia, where South Korea\u2019s Kospi index dropped 8.9 per cent. That included a 15.4 per cent plunge for SK Hynix\u2019s stock in Seoul, the worst since it began trading in 1997.<\/p>\n The South Korean tech giant just launched shares of its stock trading in the United States on Friday, raising roughly $US26.5 billion ($38.3 billion). Those shares jumped 13.1 per cent in their first day of trading but they fell 9.3 per cent Monday.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, a group of 12 states sued Paramount Skydance, seeking to block its $US110 billion bid to buy Warner Bros Discovery, alleging the blockbuster Hollywood deal would leave viewers with higher prices and fewer choices for movies and television.<\/p>\n The antitrust lawsuit, filed in California federal court, alleges the deal would harm competition for film distribution and the licensing of cable TV channels. California and 11 other states with Democratic attorneys-general joined the challenge, creating the largest legal hurdle to the deal after the Trump administration cleared the transaction without conditions in June.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter this merger, for every dollar generated by wide-release theatrical films and basic cable channels in this country, the combined company will pocket more than a quarter,\u201d the states alleged in the complaint. \u201cThis merger, in short, would create a media behemoth.\u201d<\/p>\n Much of Wall Street\u2019s attention this week will be on profit reports from companies saying how much they earned during the spring. On Tuesday alone, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo are all releasing their latest quarterly results.<\/p>\n![\"KPMG\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1783996875_47_ac2dfbf631db1fd8e868d3d46701c82efa6fef6d.jpeg\")
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