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ASX today − Australian shares are now heading for a flat open to end Week 12, partly because Netanyahu has vowed not to target Iranian energy assets anymore, and partly, I suspect, because everyone has simply had their fill of brutal market selloffs after Thursday’s -1.5% collapse up to close.
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There was a time in the middle of the night when it looked like the hurt may continue, with QatarEnergy declaring Iran’s latest attacks had wiped out some 17% of its LNG export capacity for as long as three to five years.
Benjamin Netanyahu eased that worry a little with his attack pledge, as well as new plans to help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible.
(That said, Trump’s plans to reopen the strait involved some pretty hectic attack threats should Iran not comply, so we’ll see about that one.)
((How the oil story plays out over the next few weeks does have some factors that are hard to guess, but Jonathon Davidson and I had a good stab at it on the HotCopper Wire podcast this week. That one releases this morning.))
The whole affair left Wall Street bruised from yesterday but plodding along today; as Australians slowly wake up, the Dow Jones is down -0.4%, while the S&P 500 has lost -0.25%. It’s better than London, which dumped -2.5%, or the Stoxx, which lost about the same. The Nikkei is similarly red, -3.4% weaker.
Sometimes it’s good to follow big brother, the U.S., so closely, apparently.
Now, let’s have a look at the company news on Friday’s wire.
ASX stocks to watch
First up, Woodside Energy (ASX:WDS) and BHP (ASX:BHP) both remain close watches into the weekend after unveiling new leadership. Woodside especially enjoyed a strong day yesterday despite the bloodbath, up +7.2% on surging oil prices and the news Anglo American’s Mark Cutifani was joining the board.
Elsewhere, Genesis Energy (ASX:GNE) has closed out its NZ$300 million rights offer, which received “strong shareholder support” to the tune of $242.7M.
S2 Resources (ASX:S2R) has got the ‘go’ signal for its Jillewarra JV exploration licences after today signing a heritage protection agreement with the Wajarri Yamaji traditional owners regarding the Jillewarra region.
Ragnar Metals (ASX:RAG) has seen Harnas in Sweden balloon, with recent channel sampling in the project’s historic pit returning high-grade gold.
And finally, Citi lifted Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL) to “Neutral” today.
Buck and ore
Now – in forex, the Oz dollar is buying US 70.8c.
Looking at commodities, all in the greenback,
Iron Ore is up +0.2%, selling at $107.45 a tonne in Singapore today,
Brent Crude is flat, at $107.47/Bbl,
Gold is selling at $4,667/ounce,
US natgas futures are down -2%, to $3.12 per gigajoule.
That’s HotCopper’s Market Open, I’m Isaac McIntyre – good luck today.
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