Shares drop, oil and gold surge as Israel attacks Iran
Australia's share market has given up early gains after Israel's military launched air strikes against Iran, hammering risk sentiment.
The S&P/ASX200 is down 12.5 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 8552.6, as the broader All Ordinaries fell 21.3 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 8,774.7.
Israel's attack on Iran came ahead of a sixth round of nuclear talks between US officials and Tehran over the gulf state's uranium enrichment activities, and a day after the US authorised a partial evacuation of its embassies in the Middle East.
Israeli officials said its defence force had launched attacks on "dozens of military targets", and declared a state of emergency ahead of expected retaliation from Iran.
The escalation was a blow to risk sentiment and came at a crucial time after macro and systematic funds had rebuilt long positions and investor sentiment had rebounded, IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore said.
"While we await further news and a potential response from Iran, we are likely to see a further deterioration in risk sentiment as traders cut risk seeking positions ahead of the weekend," he said.
Seven of 11 local sectors were trading lower after the attack, but a resulting surge in oil prices pushed energy stocks 3.9 per cent higher and utilities stocks jumped 3.8 per cent.
Brent crude futures rocketed more than seven per cent to 10-week highs to trade at $US73.76 a barrel by midday, injecting more than five per cent into the market capitalisations of Woodside and Santos.
Woodside was the best performer of the top-200, up 5.7 per cent to $24.80.
The safe haven of gold spiked more than one per cent to a new all-time high, with futures trading around $US3,450 ($A5,320) an ounce.
The precious metal was already on the way up ahead of the air strikes, after softer-than-expected US inflation numbers narrowed bets on future interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.
Australia's gold miners were among the top-200's best performers, with Ora Banda, Emerald Resources and Newmont Corporation all up roughly six per cent.
The rally in gold stocks limited losses to the materials sector, which fell 0.4 per cent as large cap miners BHP, Fortescue and Rio Tinto traded lower.
Financials weighed on the bourse, sliding 0.4 per cent, tracking with the performance the four big banks, as CBA fell 0.3 per cent to $180.31.
Australia's tech sector fell 1.3 per cent, as investors backed away from high-growth in favour of more defensive assets.
Utilities stocks rallied after Israel's attacks, up 3.9 per cent, as Origin surged more than five per cent to $10.48 and AGL gained 3.5 per cent
The Australian dollar has slipped almost one per cent to 10-day lows to buy 64.86US cents, down from 64.96 US cents on Thursday at 5pm.
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Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
How the militaries of Israel and Iran compare
On Thursday, an Israeli military official said that Iran used a missile with multiple warheads, posing a new challenge to its defences. There was no immediate independent analysis of the attack. Iran claims to have a multi-warhead missile, known as the Khorramshahr, which was first tested in 2017 and appears likely to be derived from a North Korean missile, according to a report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies' Missile Defence Project. According to the CSIS report, 'the 'multiple warheads' claim is most likely a reference to a sub-munitions warhead, rather than multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) technology'. A true MIRV missile allows separately targeted warheads to be set on independent paths from the main missile. The security of Iran's top commanders has also been a recurring problem, with the head of the Revolutionary Guards, General Hossein Salami, and General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, among those who killed in last Friday's strikes in Tehran. Top nuclear scientists were also killed. Other senior commanders have been killed in recent strikes around the region. Iran's nuclear program has advanced in recent years, and it is believed to have developed enough uranium enriched to near-weapons grade levels to produce multiple nuclear weapons in a matter of months if it took the decision to do so. But Iran would need even more time to develop a missile or other means of weaponising them. Israel does not appear inclined to take that chance, however, having already struck facilities manufacturing nuclear material and ballistic missiles. How does Israel compare? Loading Israel's formidable land, sea and air forces are derived from both the latest US and European technology as well as a robust domestic defence industry that can design, build and sustain a full range of armaments, allowing it to take on opponents on multiple fronts at the same time. For a small nation, it also has a considerable supply of troops, with about 170,000 active duty forces and another 400,000 reserves. Though fewer than Iran, Israel's forces have been battle-hardened by regional conflicts. One option for Iran's counterstrike may include hundreds of ballistic missiles targeting Israel, though how long that could be sustained is unclear. In October 2024, a massive Iranian missile assault on Israel caused only limited damage, partly because of US help in shooting down Iranian missiles. That defence was made possible by Israel's multi-tiered missile defences. The sophisticated system, developed over decades with considerable US support, is capable of detecting incoming fire and deploying only if the projectile is headed toward a population centre or sensitive military or civilian infrastructure. Israeli leaders say the system isn't 100 per cent guaranteed, but credit it with preventing serious damage and countless casualties. Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, though it has never acknowledged having such weapons. Israel also has a steadfast ally in the United States, which has been key in previous conflicts and will likely be crucial in any that follow. The US role The United States has distanced itself from the Israeli actions, but could be a target of Iranian retaliation. Among the US assets in the region are an aircraft carrier with about 60 fighters in the Arabian Sea, along with dozens of other jets at bases throughout the region – as well as thousands of troops. America also has 'bunker-buster' bombs, which have assumed central importance because of Iran's Fordow nuclear site buried deep within a mountain. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Israel took 'unilateral action against Iran', warning Iran not to target US forces in retaliation. In recent days, the US began pulling some diplomats from Iraq's capital and offering voluntary evacuations for the families of US troops in the wider Middle East. Israel already curtailed Iran's ability to fight back, having decimated Iranian proxies Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah and heavily bombed Iran's air defence systems. Ahead of Friday's strikes, Iran had vowed massive retaliation for any attack, not just against Israel but also US bases in the region, with one official vowing to in effect drive the US from the Middle East through the destruction of its military infrastructure.
The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
How the militaries of Israel and Iran compare
On Thursday, an Israeli military official said that Iran used a missile with multiple warheads, posing a new challenge to its defences. There was no immediate independent analysis of the attack. Iran claims to have a multi-warhead missile, known as the Khorramshahr, which was first tested in 2017 and appears likely to be derived from a North Korean missile, according to a report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies' Missile Defence Project. According to the CSIS report, 'the 'multiple warheads' claim is most likely a reference to a sub-munitions warhead, rather than multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) technology'. A true MIRV missile allows separately targeted warheads to be set on independent paths from the main missile. The security of Iran's top commanders has also been a recurring problem, with the head of the Revolutionary Guards, General Hossein Salami, and General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, among those who killed in last Friday's strikes in Tehran. Top nuclear scientists were also killed. Other senior commanders have been killed in recent strikes around the region. Iran's nuclear program has advanced in recent years, and it is believed to have developed enough uranium enriched to near-weapons grade levels to produce multiple nuclear weapons in a matter of months if it took the decision to do so. But Iran would need even more time to develop a missile or other means of weaponising them. Israel does not appear inclined to take that chance, however, having already struck facilities manufacturing nuclear material and ballistic missiles. How does Israel compare? Loading Israel's formidable land, sea and air forces are derived from both the latest US and European technology as well as a robust domestic defence industry that can design, build and sustain a full range of armaments, allowing it to take on opponents on multiple fronts at the same time. For a small nation, it also has a considerable supply of troops, with about 170,000 active duty forces and another 400,000 reserves. Though fewer than Iran, Israel's forces have been battle-hardened by regional conflicts. One option for Iran's counterstrike may include hundreds of ballistic missiles targeting Israel, though how long that could be sustained is unclear. In October 2024, a massive Iranian missile assault on Israel caused only limited damage, partly because of US help in shooting down Iranian missiles. That defence was made possible by Israel's multi-tiered missile defences. The sophisticated system, developed over decades with considerable US support, is capable of detecting incoming fire and deploying only if the projectile is headed toward a population centre or sensitive military or civilian infrastructure. Israeli leaders say the system isn't 100 per cent guaranteed, but credit it with preventing serious damage and countless casualties. Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, though it has never acknowledged having such weapons. Israel also has a steadfast ally in the United States, which has been key in previous conflicts and will likely be crucial in any that follow. The US role The United States has distanced itself from the Israeli actions, but could be a target of Iranian retaliation. Among the US assets in the region are an aircraft carrier with about 60 fighters in the Arabian Sea, along with dozens of other jets at bases throughout the region – as well as thousands of troops. America also has 'bunker-buster' bombs, which have assumed central importance because of Iran's Fordow nuclear site buried deep within a mountain. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Israel took 'unilateral action against Iran', warning Iran not to target US forces in retaliation. In recent days, the US began pulling some diplomats from Iraq's capital and offering voluntary evacuations for the families of US troops in the wider Middle East. Israel already curtailed Iran's ability to fight back, having decimated Iranian proxies Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah and heavily bombed Iran's air defence systems. Ahead of Friday's strikes, Iran had vowed massive retaliation for any attack, not just against Israel but also US bases in the region, with one official vowing to in effect drive the US from the Middle East through the destruction of its military infrastructure.
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Channel 7 journalist forced to hide between buildings as Iran launches ballistic missiles into Israel day on eight of conflict
An Australian journalist has been forced to shelter out in the open as Iranian ballistic missiles slammed into parts of Israel while others were intercepted in the sky. Channel Seven's Europe Correspondent Jacquelin Robson has been in the region covering Israel and Iran's deadly conflict, which entered its second week on Friday. While on the road in Tel Aviv, the reporter and her cameraman received a "rare" nationwide text alerting them to seek shelter as rockets had been fired by Tehran. Robson told Sunrise she was caught in the middle of the carnage. "We were forced to pull over and try to seek shelter," she said on Saturday. Viewers were shown vision of Robson and her crew running through a Tel Aviv neighbourhood as they scrambled to put on their body armour and helmets. "There were some locals who were calling us over to a bunker and we soon discovered that bunker did not exist. The final siren then sounded and we were forced to run to find shelter and found some space between buildings," the journalist said. A large explosion was then heard in the background of the clip. Robson said that was the moment a missile was intercepted by Israeli air defences. The two nations on Friday continued to launch missiles at one another on day eight of the conflict, targeting missile production sites in Iran and industrial facilities in Israel. Iran also hit the southern Israeli city of Beersheba for the second day in a row, causing serious damage to homes, businesses and leaving at least seven people injured. Israel hit dozens of military targets it claimed were involved in nuclear weapons development in Tehran, in addition to surface-to-air missile batteries in Iran's south. The Israeli city of Haifa was another location to be hit, leaving 23 people seriously injured. Among that group includes a boy, 16, and two men aged 40 and 54. Israel's military chief Eyal Zamir has warned it will likely be a "prolonged" conflict. "We have embarked on the most complex campaign in our history to remove a threat of such magnitude. The campaign is not over. Although we have made significant achievements, difficult days ahead," he said in a video statement. Peace talks were held in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday between European foreign ministers and their Iranian counterparts about a de-escalation of the conflict. The foreign ministers of Germany, Britain, France, known as the E3, plus the European Union, urged Iran to engage with the United States over its nuclear programme. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in Switzerland that officials are "ready to consider diplomacy" but demanded Israel "stop the aggression". 'Iran's nuclear programme is peaceful and has always been under the IAEA safeguards and monitoring. Hence, armed attacks against safeguarded nuclear facilities by a regime which is not a party to any WMD (weapons of mass destruction) treaties is a serious crime and violation of international law," he said on Friday. 'Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again – once the aggression is stopped and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed. 'In this regard, I made it crystal clear that Iran's defence capabilities are not negotiable.' President Trump dismissed Europe's attempts to get Iran to agree to diplomacy. 'They didn't help. Iran doesn't want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help on this one," the US commander-in-chief said. Asked about a ceasefire in the conflict, the President said he "might" support it.
