The Australian sharemarket finished marginally higher on Wednesday as broad gains led by the energy sector after oil hit a two-month high amid turmoil in Iran were offset by a sell-off in the major banks.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 12.10 points, or 1% to 8820.60, with eight of the 11 sectors higher.
The nation’s four largest banks weighed on the benchmark index, as investors rotated out of financials as JPMorgan delivered weaker profit and revenue than analysts expected. Commonwealth Bank fell 1.3% to $152.88 after being down by as much as 2%, National Australia Bank slid 1.1% to $41.91, Westpac 0.6% to $38.28 and ANZ 0.3% to $36.38.
Square payments platform and Afterpay owner, Block fell 3.4% to $100.70, as the sector faced pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has pledged to cap credit card interest rates at 10%.
Global X ETFs senior investment strategist Marc Jocum said the sell-off in banks reflected valuation fatigue, positioning rotation and renewed concerns around credit card regulation.
“Concerns about higher interest rates squeezing the consumer, even as bank margins widen, are feeding fear of deteriorating loan quality and rising bank cost-to-income ratios, making banks priced to perfection vulnerable to any earnings sniff of weakness,” he said.
“There’s also a clear rotation underway into the materials and commodities sector, with metals like copper prices surging on tight supply and structural demand tied to electrification and AI infrastructure, underpinning miner strength.”
Those losses were offset by strong gains in energy as Brent Crude hit a two-month high of around $US65 per barrel after Trump cancelled dialogue with Iranian officials and told demonstrators that “help was on its way”, fuelling fears of an American intervention that could disrupt the flow of oil.
On the ASX, Beach Energy rallied 5.2% to $1.20, Woodside 2.6% to $23.92 and Santos 2.8% to $6.31.
Materials also saw broad gains amid elevated metals prices, with BHP up 1.1% to $48.12 and Rio Tinto 0.8% to $146.66. Newmont climbed another 2.2% to $170.93, buoyed by gold trading above $US4600. BlueScope dipped 0.3% to $29.76. The company is planning to return $438 million to shareholders through a $1 unfranked special dividend, funded by recent asset sales and working capital releases.
Neuren Pharmaceuticals climbed 6.1% to $20.47 as its partner Acadia projected global net sales of its Rett syndrome treatment Daybue to hit $US700 million ($1.05 billion) by 2028, driven by the US rollout of a new formulation, expanded sales teams, and potential European approval.
Mayne Pharma fell 2.3% to $2.94 amid a board shrinkage that triggered three director departures and a leadership change. Chairman Frank Condella will retire in January to be replaced by Professor Bruce Robinson.
Uranium miner Deep Yellow added 1% to $2.03 with incoming chief executive Greg Field now due to start next month.
Shares in junior gas explorer 3D Energi slumped 35.5% to 10¢ after less positive news on its second exploration well off Victoria than was signalled last week.
