Australian shares pushed higher on Monday as a surge in oil prices lifted energy stocks after the US and Iran escalated hostilities over the weekend.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 28.9 points, or by 0.3 per cent to 8825.60 at 10.14am AEST .
The opening bounce followed a 3.1 per cent jump in Brent crude to $US90.82 a barrel at the start of Asian trade. Tehran said the ceasefire with Washington had effectively collapsed after a weekend of tit-for-tat attacks, including strikes involving vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, fuelling concerns over potential disruptions to one of the world's key oil shipping routes.
"The number of observable movements in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has collapsed since the US resumed its blockade on Iran's shipping through the Strait of Hormuz last week," Commonwealth Bank's sustainable and energy economist John Oh said.
On the ASX, Woodside Energy and Ampol both rose 2.7 per cent, Santos by 2.2 per cent, and Karoon Energy 4 per cent.
Financials also climbed as Commonwealth Bank advanced 0.7 per cent, National Australia Bank and ANZ both by about 0.3 per cent and Westpac by 0.1 per cent.
Materials were steady following heavy selling last week. BHP rose 0.6 per cent after its production update sparked two days of heavy declines. The latest uplift in oil send gold back down below $US3990 an ounce.
This saw Northern Star fall 1.1 per cent, Evolution Mining by 1.5 per cent and Genesis Minerals 1.8 per cent.
South32 firmed 0.3 per cent after it exceeded 2026 production guidance across its key operations, with Sierra Gorda copper, Cannington and manganese assets outperforming expectations in the final quarter. Quarterly sales volumes jumped 15 per cent.
Technology was the worst performer after the Nasdaq dropped 1.4 per cent on Friday. WiseTech Global declined 1 per cent, Xero by 0.9 per cent and Megaport 0.4 per cent.
Stocks in focus
EQ Resources rallied 22.7 per cent after Andrew Forrest's investment vehicle agreed to acquire a 16.8 per cent stake in the tungsten producer from Oaktree Capital Management, covering 862.1 million shares and 35.6 million options.
Deep Yellow advanced 4.2 per cent following awarding $34 million in civil and concrete construction contracts for its flagship Tumas uranium project in Namibia, ahead of a final investment decision expected in the December quarter.
Fletcher Building added 1.5 per cent after it secured up to $NZ60 million ($50 million) in government funding to keep New Zealand's only cement manufacturing plant operating until at least 2040. In return, Golden Bay Cement will invest at least $NZ150 million in the plant through 2040.
QBE Insurance added 1.3 per cent as it said it would redeem $500 million of floating-rate subordinated notes issued in 2020 after receiving approval from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
Perenti climbed 0.2 per cent after it secured a six-month $95 million extension to its mining services contract at AngloGold Ashanti's Iduapriem gold mine in Ghana, alongside an agreement to sell most of its on-site mining fleet at the end of the contract for $30 million to $40 million.

Sumber : AFR