Aussie shares fall as US dollar surges, oil retreats
Australia’s stock market fell as a sell-off in precious metals, oil and other commodities dragged resource companies lower as the US dollar rose and more ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz.
At noon on Thursday, the S&P/ASX200 index decreased by 25.8 points (0.29 percent) to 8,782.6 points, while the All Ordinaries index decreased by 27.5 points (0.31 percent) to 8,985.1 points.
The ASX200 fell further in morning trade but rose 24 points after the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported the country added a better-than-expected 40,300 jobs in May and the unemployment rate fell from 4.5 per cent to 4.4 per cent.
“Australians are still working and spending in an economy that is expected to lose momentum,” Russel Chesler, head of investments and capital markets at VanEck, said.
As tankers carrying millions of barrels of crude oil exited the Strait of Hormuz following the US-Iran peace deal, Brent crude fell more than US$1 per barrel to US$72.80, its lowest level since February 28, when the war against Iran began.
The US dollar jumped to its highest level since May 2025, measured against other currencies, amid bets that the Fed will raise US interest rates later this year to limit the effects of the war.
By midday seven of the ASX’s 11 sectors were higher and four were lower.
Given the dollar’s recent strength, healthcare was the biggest gainer, up 2.7 percent, as companies that make most of their money in U.S. dollars gained strength.
CSL was up 2.8 percent, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare was up 4.3 percent and ResMed was up 4.2 percent.
The ASX’s two resource sectors, materials/mining and energy, fell 1.7 per cent and 2.0 per cent respectively as a rising dollar weighed on commodity prices.
BHP fell one percent and Rio Tinto lost 1.3 percent, but Fortescue rose 0.6 percent despite the sexual harassment class action lawsuit.
Gold miners were even worse off; The yellow metal fell below US$4,000 per ounce for the first time since November, with Evolution losing 3.4 percent and Northern Star losing 3.1 percent.
Mineral Resources fell 3 per cent after the mining services company said it would close its Lucky Bay mineral sand mine in Western Australia, cutting 110 jobs due to conflict in the Middle East.
In the energy sector, Woodside fell 2.3 percent, Santos fell 2.8 percent and Whitehaven Coal fell 4.6 percent.
In the financial sector, NAB was down 3.1 per cent, Westpac was down 0.8 per cent, ANZ was down 0.4 per cent and CBA was down 0.1 per cent.
Judo Capital fell 39.7 per cent to 92.5 cents, a two-year low, after the business-focused bank said three problem loans had surfaced in recent weeks.
Insurance companies were having a field day; IAG rose 3.4 percent, Medibank Private rose 2.3 percent and Steadfast Group rose 2.9 percent.
The Australian dollar fell to its lowest level against the US dollar since late April, trading from 69.06 US cents to 68.93 US cents at 5pm on Wednesday.
