Australian shares end unchanged as renewed Gulf conflict unsettles sentiment

Australian shares ended flat on Monday as losses in miners cancelled out gains in energy stocks, while escalating Middle East tensions and Iran’s claim that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz weakened risk appetite.

The S&P/ASX 200 index closed unchanged at 8,808.50 points, after falling as much as 0.4% earlier in the session. The benchmark lost 0.4% last week.

Renewed attacks in the Gulf over the weekend clouded the outlook for an interim U.S.-Iran deal signed in June to reopen the key route for a fifth of global oil and LNG shipments and end the conflict after 60 more days of talks.

“A slight index decline after a Hormuz closure declaration reads as fatigue with a known conflict rather than panic, though recent sessions have seen violent intraday reversals on macro headlines, so caution is clearly latent,” said David Tuckwell, chief investment officer at ETF Shares.

Australian gold miners fell 1.9% after bullion prices fell, while the broader mining sub-index also retreated, dragged by a decline of 0.3% in bellwether Rio Tinto.

A decline in bullion prices despite the weekend escalation suggested investors were not fleeing to traditional safe-haven assets, Tuckwell added.

Technology stocks also came under pressure, losing as much as 3.1% to a two-week low, with Siteminder and Xero falling 4% and 4.3%, respectively.

Utility stocks slipped 1.6%, marking their steepest fall in a week.

Energy stocks rose 0.7% to hit their highest level in three weeks, as concerns over disruptions to energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz supported the sector.

The New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.5% to 13,723.20 points.

Dairy giant Fonterra trimmed the upper end of its milk price forecast for the 2026/27 season due to softer prices, sending its shares down 1.2% to their lowest level in a week.