The ASX Today: Plodding in Week 17 as we wait for US-Iran signal post; Viva on road back to production

Hello, hello, and welcome to HotCopper‘s The ASX Today for Monday, Week 17, I’m Isaac McIntyre. Been a bit of a sluggish start to the week so far, with hesitation rife among traders and probably more than a few nerves about the whole Strait of Hormuz situation. Despite a green start, we’re basically flat into close.

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It’s become pretty tough for little ol’ Oz to pick a direction Mondays these days when everything’s so wrapped around Trump, the U.S., and Iran, and again, I find myself saying things may get clearer this evening.

A particular standout that I suspect many investors are waiting to hear about is Iran’s involvement in the next round of peace talks. Reports have suggested that Tehran won’t be attending the second round this week after the U.S. blockaded its ports and then seized an Iranian-flagged vessel this weekend.

Not helping matters either are headlines about Treasurer Jim Chalmers including “severe” wartime downside options in the budget he’s cooking up.

And Brent crude is tumbling back down through Monday as well, after originally opening the morning up nearly +8%. To the arvo, oil is hovering ~US$95/barrel; investors may be gambling the Strait will reopen.

We’d love better news, but for time being, we’re wading through “interesting times,” and they just keep rolling in CY26. Week 17, and I think just about every week so far, has had Donny, the U.S., and their history-making moves.

Anyway, let’s get onto stocks. Viva Energy (ASX:VEA) is the big check-in here first up, after the headline-grabbing Geelong refinery fire last week. VEA resumed trading this morning and dumped -7.5%, though maybe traders will find some comfort in the fact that the national producer expects to restart the residue catalytic cracking unit and lift production to more than 90% in the next few weeks.

Elsewhere, Leeuwin Metals (ASX:LM1) has landed a huge regulatory milestone with the grant of Mining Lease M77/1300 over the Evanston deposit within its flagship Marda Gold Project. The deal ensures 100% of the project’s current resources are now positioned on granted mining leases.

And engineering group Worley (ASX:WOR) has become the latest victim of the Middle East conflict, finance-wise, telling shareholders they’ll be seeing some reduced FY26 underlying EBITDA, down some $30-40 million.

Finally, we’ve seen a strong pop for critmins microcap Narryer Metals (ASX:NYM), up +50% after renowned Oz backer Tim Goyder bought in Friday.

That’s the ASX Today, and I’m Isaac McIntyre. See you in the morning.

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