ASX Rises on Iran Unrest; Lynas Rare Earths Jumps 6%
The Australian sharemarket opened higher on Wednesday, buoyed by global oil prices rising to a two-month high after US President Donald Trump escalated his stance on Iran, urging continued demonstrations against the regime.
The S&P/ASX 200 index added 23.60 points, or 0.3% to 8832.10 at 10.12am AEDT, with seven of the 11 sectors up.
Energy was the strongest as Brent rose more than 2% to trade around $US65.4 per barrel as Trump’s move to cancel all dialogue with the Iranian regime and told demonstrators “help was on its way” fuelled fears of American intervention.
“The situation in Iran has set off a rally in oil prices, which is having a slight impact on global yields and general market risk appetite. The simmering unrest in the country is raising the possibility of revolution and seizing up of energy exports,” Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said.
“The dynamic is also supporting precious metal prices, with gold re-testing record levels and silver exceeding $US89 per ounce.”
Woodside underpinned gains as it rose 2.2%, Santos firmed 2%, while Ampol fell 0.3%.
Materials also saw broad gains amid elevated metals prices with BHP up 0.8%, Rio Tinto 1.4%, Northern Star 1.1% and Lynas Rare Earths surged 6.1%. BlueScope edged up 0.4% on plans to return $438 million to shareholders through a $1 per share unfranked special dividend, funded by recent asset sales and working capital releases.
Humm fell 1.4% as its board urged shareholders to vote against a bid by Jeremy Raper and Sandhurst Trustees to remove three current directors and appoint two new nominees, describing the move as “reckless and flawed”.
Mayne Pharma fell 1% amid plans to shrink its board, triggering three departures and a leadership change. Chairman Frank Condella will retire on January and be replaced by Professor Bruce Robinson.
Deep Yellow added 0.5% with incoming chief executive Greg Field now due to start on February 2 instead of a later date.
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