Australian shares fall as Middle East crisis escalates; energy stocks gain

Australian shares fell on Monday, dragged down by financials amid rising Middle East tensions, though energy stocks limited losses after oil prices soared on supply disruptions.

The S&P/ASX 200 index lost 0.5% to 9,156.20 by 2332 GMT.

The benchmark rose 0.3% on Friday. Risk-off sentiment prevailed after the US and Israel launched large-scale strikes on Iran over the weekend, escalating Middle East tensions and weighing on banking, airline, and technology stocks.

Heavyweight financials lost 2.6%, after dropping the most since September 4, with top business lender National Australia Bank losing 3%.

The remaining ‘big four’ lenders, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac, and ANZ, lost 1.8% to 2.4%.

Technology stocks were among the top benchmark laggards, dropping 3.1%, with Siteminder sliding as much as 11.1% and WiseTech Global falling 3.6%.

Airline stocks also fell amid flight cancellations, with Qantas Airways sliding as much as 10.4% to a 10-month low.

Rival Virgin Australia lost as much as 3.5%.

Meanwhile, energy stocks rallied 4.8% after oil prices soared more than 8%, as the escalating conflicts damaged tankers and disrupted shipments in the Middle East.

Woodside Energy surged as much as 10.9%, posting its biggest intraday percentage gain since November 2008, while Santos jumped 8.2%. Karoon Energy advanced 22.2%. Gold stocks surged 5.2% to a record high briefly, as safe-haven demand sent bullion up more than 1%.

Evolution Mining gained 6.2%, while Northern Star Resources jumped 5%.

Defense stocks were in the green, with DroneShield, which had historically inked contracts with Western military customers, jumped 12.4%.

Electro Optic Systems rose 15% after disclosing contract awards, while flagging potential opportunities in the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index lost 1.1% to 13,567.69.