ASX flat on Tuesday as Iran/Israel conflicts leaves investors wary
Nervous investors continued to watch the fallout from the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, leading to a cautious trading day on the Australian share market on Tuesday.
The benchmark ASX 200 index practically traded flat, losing just 7.10 points or 0.08 per cent to close at 8,541.30.
The broader All Ordinaries also slipped 3.90 points or 0.04 per cent to 8,771.10.
The Aussie dollar is trading near US65.31c.
Initially markets jumped on the opening bell before the Australian market dragged lower in line with US and Europe futures as US President Donald Trump urged people to leave the Iran capital of Tehran.
Mr Trump issued the chilling warning to everyone in Tehran to 'immediately evacuate' in a post made on his social media platform Truth Social.
'Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life,' Mr Trump wrote.
Futures markets in the US slid, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.32 per cent, while the S & P 500 futures dropped 0.34 per cent, and the tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures dipped nearly 0.4 per cent.
On the local bourse, seven of the 11 sectors finished in the red paring back some of the early gains.
Gold miners were the bright spot on the market for a second day running with Northern Star Resources gaining 1.50 per cent to $20.99, Newmont Corporation added 2.49 per cent to $89.29 and Gold Road Resources finished up 0.60 per cent to $3.38.
On the other hand, the market heavyweight financial sector dragged on the market.
Commonwealth Bank fell 0.15 per cent to $179.14, NAB slipped 0.36 per cent to $38.80, Westpac slumped 0.54 per cent to $33.01 and ANZ finished in the red down 0.47 per cent to $29.46.
The major iron ore miners had a mixed day as the price of the commodity traded flat at $US95.23 per tonne.
BHP fell 0.37 per cent to $37.30 and Fortescue Metals slumped 0.38 per cent to $15.66. Bucking the trend was Rio Tinto which eked out a tiny 0.04 per cent gain to close at $107.15.
AMP chief economist and head of investment strategy Shane Oliver said the market was following its usual process with history showing falls of around 6 per cent during times of geopolitical uncertainty, before rallying by 15 per cent in the corresponding 12 months.
'The Israel/Iran war along with tariff uncertainty poses a high risk of a renewed set back in share markets, if the conflict escalates to the point that it threatens oil supplies from the Middle East,' Dr Oliver said.
'It should also be remembered that conflicts regularly flare up in the Middle East only to settle down, so the key is not to get too negative and look for any opportunities that the conflict throws up.'
In corporate news Santos continued its climb higher adding another 0.5 per cent of $7.80 after soaring more than 11 per cent on Monday after announcing an almost $30bn takeover bid.
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