ASX Stalls at the Open as BHP Cools; James Hardie Rallies
The Australian sharemarket wavered at the open after US President Donald Trump signalled he may hold off on attacking Iran for now drove down the price of oil and precious metals following strong gains in the past week.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index was down by 2.1 points to 8859.60 at 10.12am AEDT, with seven of the 11 index sectors in the red. For the week, the benchmark is on track to notch a gain of 1.1%.
Crude oil dropped more than 4% overnight to $US63.60 per barrel after US President Donald Trump signalled he may hold off on attacking Iran for now after the country pledged not to execute protesters. Shares in Woodside fell 1%, Santos 1.4% and Ampol by 1.3%.
Investors took stock after strong gains by BHP this week as shares fell 0.6%. It came as copper eased from an all-time-high that had been driven by concerns about a lack of supply, while silver, nickel and gold also declined.
The major banks were soft as National Australia Bank lost 0.5%, Commonwealth Bank 0.3%, ANZ 0.2%, and Westpac was flat at $38.50.
Materials were stronger despite a sell-off in BHP as James Hardie jumped 2.1% on plans to shut manufacturing facilities in California and South Carolina, within 60 days, as part of a plan to optimise its North American manufacturing footprint. The move will deliver cost savings worth $US25 million from the 2027 financial year and Citi analyst said a 2 to 3% benefit to profit.
IperionX rose 1.7% after the US Department of War paid the final $US4.6 million of a $US47.1 million award and delivered 290 tonnes of Ti64 titanium scrap—enough for 1.5 years of feedstock.
Qube slid 0.2% after Macquarie Asset Management provided the confirmation required under the process and exclusivity deed entered in November, allowing the exclusivity period to continue.
Buy now, pay later company, Zip, added 1.1% after Citi lifted its cash EBITDA forecasts between 2026 and 2028 by 3-6% to reflect strong US momentum in both new customers and total transaction value (TTV).
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