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Greetings and welcome to HotCopper’s The ASX Today for Monday, Week 13, I’m Isaac McIntyre, and after telling you at open today that we were looking at a bonanza +1.7% rocketship of a green day, we’re actually sat here heading into close with something more akin to a usual (non-war) advance.
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That’s not to say that most Aussie bulls wouldn’t be happy the bleeding stopped temporarily, but when Trump pulls off a classic “TACO” move – and on our Oz Tuesday, no less – you expect a bit more of a buying run.
The exact sentiment from the U.S. President had a lot of hope that we’d found an off-ramp for the war in Iran, with Donny suggesting he’d postpone strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure to hold talks with Tehran.
I can tell you why we’re only +0.4%, though, and it’s all to do with how much optimism traders really have about the war in Iran ending any time soon.
Equities had surged somewhat around 10AM in Sydney, when that bell first rung, but since then, the Iranian regime denied that any discussions with Trump have taken place, and U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf seem to be edging towards joining the turmoil. Not least there, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Anyway, Brent crude still down below US$100 a barrel again for a time, before bouncing back towards around $103 a pop, and gold still stuck in its ~$4,400 an ounce doldrums as the shiny new oil “meme trade” rolls on.
Now, let’s look around the traps at stock news. First up, KMD Brands (ASX:KMD) has been +4.5% stronger after rejecting a takeover lob from U.S. surfwear group Stokehouse. The U.S. group wanted to buy Ripcurl; KMD didn’t like the deal because it was going to dilute shareholders too much for little value.
Bad timing for Santos (ASX:STO) today, too, with the gas major facing a “temporary shutdown” for its just-restarted Darwin LNG plant after an unexpected breakdown of its new $6 billion Barossa project in the Timor Sea. The whole affair left Santos down -2% intraday, though still up +27% YTD.
Most fellow ASX energy stocks have been down today, too, on the rollercoaster sparked by Trump’s “TACO” move this morning; Woodside (ASX:WDS) -0.5% weaker.
The whole de-escalation narrative – again, not something we should bank on just yet, I reckon – also peppered war stocks DroneShield (ASX:DRO), which lost -6%, and especially counter-drone play Electro Optic (ASX:EOS), -10%.
And over in ADVFN’s top movers board, cancer cell therapy microcap Chimeric Therapeutics (ASX:CHM) caught eyes with a +100% pop. Expect that one to show up in my HotCopper HotList column Friday, I’d dare say.
That’s The ASX Today for Tuesday. I’m Isaac McIntyre, see you in the morning.
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