Australian shares are poised to open higher on Tuesday, tracking another record-setting session on Wall Street as investors weighed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East against resilient risk appetite in global equities.
ASX 200 futures were up 13 points, or 0.2%, to 8746 in early hours, trimming stronger overnight gains of more than 20 points after oil prices surged on renewed uncertainty surrounding Iran ceasefire negotiations.
The positive lead follows fresh record highs for both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite in New York, with energy and materials stocks underpinning gains as crude prices rallied.
ASX retreats as CSL slump rattles healthcare
The local market ended lower on Monday, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index falling 42.6 points, or 0.5%, to 8701.8 after healthcare heavyweight CSL triggered a sharp sell-off across the sector.
The benchmark index recovered from an intraday low of 8643.5, though eight of the 11 sectors still finished in negative territory.
Healthcare stocks bore the brunt of the decline after CSL plunged 16% to a nine-year low of $100.75, wiping around $9 billion from its market capitalisation. The stock suffered its second-largest one-day loss on record after the biotech group flagged a further $US5 billion in non-cash impairments across FY26 and FY27 and downgraded earnings expectations.
CSL forecast FY26 revenue of $US15.2 billion and profit of $US3.1 billion, both below the prior corresponding period.
Morgans analyst Derek Jellinek said investor concerns had shifted beyond valuation metrics.
“We believe the key issue for investors is no longer valuation alone, but confidence in the earnings trajectory and management execution,” he said.
“Repeated downgrades make it difficult for investors to underwrite a near-term recovery story.”
Financial stocks also weighed on the market, with ANZ falling 2.5% to $35.88 as it traded ex-dividend. Commonwealth Bank slipped 1.1% to $174.01, while Westpac and NAB lost 0.9% and 0.6% respectively.
Energy, miners gain on oil and commodity strength
Energy shares outperformed as Brent crude prices climbed above $US104 a barrel amid escalating concerns over supply disruption through the Strait of Hormuz.
Woodside Energy rose 1.5% to $30.51, while Karoon Energy gained 1% to $1.98.
Uranium stocks also rallied, led by Paladin Energy, which jumped 5.8% to $13.21.
In the materials sector, Dyno Nobel surged 6.6% to $3.54 after reporting first-half earnings that came in 17% ahead of expectations and reaffirming full-year guidance.
Sandfire Resources climbed 2.9% to $18.53, while BHP added 0.7% to $58.33 as it edged closer to record highs.
Wall Street hits fresh records
US equities finished modestly higher overnight, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite extending record territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 49,704.47, the S&P 500 gained 0.2% to 7,412.84 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.1% to 26,274.12.
Earlier in the session, the S&P 500 touched an all-time intraday high of 7428.97, while the Nasdaq reached 26,359.31.
Energy and materials shares led six of the 11 S&P sectors higher as oil prices jumped following comments from US President Donald Trump regarding stalled negotiations with Iran.
Trump described Tehran’s latest proposal as “a piece of garbage” and said the ceasefire was on “massive life support”.
“They come back and they want to negotiate, and they give us a stupid proposal, and nobody would take it,” he told reporters.
Among individual movers, Lumentum Holdings surged 16.5%, Coherent Corp jumped 13.3% and Corning gained 10.9%.
On the downside, Dollar General fell 7.6%, Zoetis lost 7.4% and Trade Desk dropped 6.8%.
Asian markets mixed
Asian markets delivered a mixed performance on Monday as investors balanced stronger commodity prices against geopolitical uncertainty.
Chinese equities advanced, with the Shanghai Composite rising 1.1% to 4225.02 and the Shenzhen Composite gaining 1.6% to 2922.37.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index finished flat at 26,406.84.
Japan’s Nikkei declined 0.5% to 62,417.88, while India’s BSE Sensex fell 1.7% to 76,015.28.
Europe mixed as FTSE edges higher
European markets closed mixed overnight.
The UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4% to 10,269.43, while Germany’s DAX finished flat at 24,350.28.
France’s CAC 40 fell 0.7% to 8056.38.
Commodities and currencies
Commodity markets remained firm amid heightened geopolitical tensions and stronger demand expectations.
- Brent crude rose 3.1% to $US104.38 a barrel, while gold gained 0.4% to $US4736.17 an ounce.
- Iron ore climbed 1% to $US111.55 a tonne.
- The Australian dollar edged 0.04% higher to US72.49¢.
- Bitcoin rose 1% to $US81,703.
- US 10-year bond yields stood at 4.41%, while Australian 10-year yields were at 4.99%.
- The VIX volatility index rose 1.19 points to 18.38.