ASX 200 Climbs 1.1% to 9129 as Oil Falls on Trump Iran Remarks
The S&P/ASX 200 closed up 99.3 points at 9129 on Tuesday as oil fell and Wall Street rallied. Gains came despite a four-year low in Australian consumer sentiment, with miners, banks and Qantas leading the advance.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 99.3 points, or 1.1 per cent, at 9129 on Tuesday, November 10, as the ASX jumped despite a gloomy reading on Australian consumer confidence. Falling oil prices and a Wall Street rally drove the move.
The index had edged up 0.9 per cent on Monday. The Australian dollar strengthened to US69.25¢.
Oil slides on Iran comments
US President Donald Trump said the Iran war "is effectively over", raising hopes for an end to a conflict that has pushed up global energy costs and inflation. He also said further strikes on Iran would not be necessary.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell below US$92 a barrel after sliding almost 6 per cent overnight. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, traded below US$86.
Oil producers Woodside and Santos ended little changed. Companies with large fuel bills did better: Virgin Australia gained 1.8 per cent and Qantas Airways rose 6.3 per cent.
Qantas also said it plans to cut 850 local jobs and move back office functions "mostly" to India, aiming to lower costs and use more AI.
Sentiment at a four-year low
The Westpac Consumer Sentiment Index fell 2.7 per cent to 78.2 points this month, its lowest in four years. The drop followed the Reserve Bank's decision to lift interest rates to an 18-year high.
Shares largely ignored the data. Mining and financial stocks, which make up more than half of the index, led the gains, and property and industrials also climbed. Defensive sectors such as utilities and consumer staples did not share in the rise.
Sector moves
BHP rose 1.1 per cent and Rio Tinto 0.4 per cent. Gold miners advanced on hopes that cheaper fuel could slow inflation and ease pressure on central banks to raise rates. Northern Star gained 3 per cent and Evolution Mining 2.1 per cent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank of Australia climbed 1.8 per cent and ANZ Bank 1 per cent. Westpac rose 1.2 per cent, overtaking National Australia Bank as the second-biggest bank. NAB fell 0.8 per cent.
Goodman Group jumped 3.4 per cent, while Scentre rose 1.5 per cent and Stockland 2.5 per cent. Engineering contractor Monadelphous surged 15.3 per cent after flagging a strong first-half profit and more than $830 million in new contracts since the start of July.
In technology, WiseTech Global added 1.5 per cent, NextDC 2.6 per cent and Megaport 6.4 per cent. Life360 plunged 15.3 per cent after its third-quarter results.
Wall Street rebound
The S&P 500 rose 2.3 per cent overnight for a second straight gain, its best day since April. That recovered most of last week's large loss, even as Nvidia sank.
Hopes for talks to end the war have grown after the Democratic sweep of the US midterm elections, which added pressure on Washington to seek an exit. Trump said over the weekend it was "highly unlikely" he would order extensive strikes on Iran.
