ASX shrugs off oil price spike; Light & Wonder jumps
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The Australian sharemarket finished the day largely where it began despite US President Donald Trump reimposing a blockade through the Strait of Hormuz and as further strikes across the region sent oil higher.
After trading lower for much of the session, the S&P/ASX 200 Index finished the day at 8808.50 points, with seven of the 11 sectors stronger as investors looked past the spike in the oil price.
Brent crude rose 1.2 per cent to $US84.30 on Tuesday after a 9 per cent jump overnight – its biggest one-day increase since 2020 – after Trump said the US would restart a blockade on Iranian ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and charge all other cargo a 20 per cent fee.
The flare-up has prompted money markets to price in about 50 per cent odds of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates this month.
“The clock has started ticking again on global oil inventory depletion being realised. We estimate that it would take 10 weeks from now for physical shortfalls to be felt in oil markets,” said Commonwealth Bank head of commodities research Vivek Dhar.
“We could see Brent oil futures lift towards $US100 a barrel in the next 10 days unless the view is that the rising tension between the US and Iran is not a true escalation but a power play.”
On the ASX, energy stocks extended strong gains from Monday as Karoon Energy jumped 3.8 per cent to $1.50, Woodside Energy 3 per cent to a one-month high of $30.20 and Ampol by 2.2 per cent to $37.56.
Financials dragged on the index as Westpac fell 0.7 per cent to $36.64, Commonwealth Bank 0.4 per cent to $169.30, National Australia Bank 0.9 per cent to $39.71, and ANZ 1 per cent to $36.11.
The shift in the outlook for global interest rates weighed on real estate stocks. Goodman Group fell 2.7 per cent to $29.11 and Charter Hall by 1.3 per cent to $21.90
Materials reversed earlier losses to close higher after iron ore futures in Singapore rose by more than 1 per cent to be above $US100 per tonne.
BHP added 0.6 per cent to $58.71 and Fortescue 1.3 per cent to $19.02, while Rio Tinto fell 0.3 per cent to $163.61.
Stocks in focus
In company news, Endeavour Group fell nearly 1 per cent to $3.45 after it parted ways with Oakridge chief winemaker David Bicknell, one of Australia’s most decorated winemakers, as the drinks and hotels giant presses ahead with its plan to exit parts of its wine business.
Light & Wonder soared 8 per cent to $111.60 to be the best performer after the gaming company reaffirmed FY26 guidance, with Citi saying the update could ease investor concerns following recent share price weakness.
Takeover target Steadfast climbed 1 per cent to $5.24 as Amwins Group and Dragoneer Investment Group said private equity giant KKR had joined the consortium looking to buy Steadfast in a $6 per share cash offer.
Genesis Minerals climbed 2 per cent to $6 and Vault Minerals 1.4 per cent to $4.98 after the pair agreed to a $12.6 billion merger that will create one of Australia’s largest gold producers, combining their operations to form a company targeting 600,000 to 700,000 ounces of annual gold production.
And West African Resources eased 0.7 per cent to $2.82 despite reporting further high-grade gold results from drilling at its Sanbrado gold operations in Burkina Faso.
Source: https://www.afr.com/markets/equity-markets/asx-to-open-higher-as-oil-surges-wall-street-drops-20260714-p60f0j