Australian shares plunge as US-Iran war spreads
As the US-Israeli war against Iran intensifies, the local stock market has fallen and oil prices have risen.
In early trading on Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 3.2 percent to 8,566.3 points, its lowest level since mid-December, after nearly $100 billion in value was erased from the stock market’s market value.
The losses put the index on track to record its worst day since April 2025, when the ASX200 fell 4.2 per cent amid Donald Trump’s intensifying trade war.
Brent crude oil rose to $107 per barrel, the commodity’s highest price since August 2022.
At the beginning of 2026, just over $60 was changing hands.
Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda said the strategic consequences of the spiraling war in Iran are multifaceted, but the economic consequences can be reduced to oil markets and supply shocks.
“Energy supplies are increasingly threatened, mostly by disruption of trade flows in the Strait of Hormuz, but now also by attacks on energy infrastructure as a war tactic,” he said.
All sectors of the ASX were in the red except energy, which was up 1.6 per cent.
The materials sector, which includes mining, was the sector that lost the most, with a decrease of 4.7 percent.
BHP fell 5.4 per cent, Rio Tinto fell 4.2 per cent and Fortescue lost 3.4 per cent.
Gold is hardly a safe haven as the yellow metal changes hands for $5,082 per ounce, down $75 compared to Friday.
Goldminers Evolution and Northern Star fell 5.0 percent and 4.3 percent respectively.
Copper miners Sandfire and Capstone were the biggest losers on the ASX200 in morning trade, losing just over nine per cent.
All four major banks were in the red; CBA lost 3.8 per cent, NAB and Westpac lost 3.4 per cent and ANZ lost 3.1 per cent.
Just seven of the 200 companies on the ASX’s main benchmark – all in the energy sector – were in the green at around 11am.
Woodside rose 2.0 percent, Santos rose 2.1 percent and Whitehaven Coal rose 3.1 percent.
Karoon Energy was the top gainer, up 9.1 percent.
The losses have caused the ASX200 to fall 1.8 per cent since the start of the year.
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