Australian shares rise on hopes of Iran conflict de-escalation

Australian shares gained on Thursday, boosted by gains in mining and banking stocks, as lingering optimism that the Middle East conflict may be nearing a resolution boosted sentiment.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.4% to 8,706.50 points by 2339 GMT.

The benchmark gained 2.2% in a holiday-shortened week and was on track for its strongest weekly climb since early February.

Hopes of de-escalation of the Iran war, which in its fifth week, resurfaced after US President Donald Trump said the US could end its military attacks on Iran in two to three weeks, and could return for “spot hits,” if needed.

Trump is expected to provide an update on Iran in an address to the nation at 0100 GMT.

Miners rose as much as 1.3% to their highest level since March 9 on the back of strong iron ore and copper prices, and was on track for its fifth consecutive session of gains.

The sub-index gained 7.6% for the week. Strong bullion prices supported gold miners to rise as much as 3.1% to a near three-week high.

The sub-index gained 16.7%, and was on track to log its strongest week since November 2022.

Northern Star Resources rose as much as 4.1% to touch a near three-week high after the gold miner launched a share buyback of up to A$500 million.

Financials gained as much as 0.7%, with the “Big Four” banks gaining 0.7% and 1.1%.

Meanwhile, energy stocks shed as much as 3.6% as oil prices declined on optimism that the Middle East conflict would end soon. For the week, the sub-index was down 1.8% and was on track to snap a seven-week rally.

Energy majors Woodside Energy and Santos declined 4.3% and 2.8% and was among the top laggards on the sub-index.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index advanced nearly 1% to 12,950.07 points.