The ASX 200 closed down as war in the Middle East rattled investors, and pushed oil prices higher.
The Energy sector was the clear winner today, outperforming other sectors.
Industrials, Materials, IT, and Heath Care were all heavily sold off in the wake of the U.S. attacks on Iran.
In the Green
Ausgold (ASX:AUC) was up today after kicking off a joint venture with Critica (ASX:CRI) to buy a majority stake in a tenement adjacent to Ausgold’s Kulin Gold Project and 75km northeast of its flagship Katanning Gold Project.
The South Australian government has imposed strong hurdles for greenlighting the proposed $36 billion takeover of Santos (ASX:STO) by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Conditions include the company’s head office staying in Adelaide and the continuation of investment in local projects.
And, Alcidion (ASX:ALC) has shared a brighter financial outlook for FY25, with EBITDA now expected to surpass $4.5 million, up from previous guidance of more than $3 million.
In the Red
Furniture retailer Adairs (ASX:ADH) was hammered by investors and was down 19% in afternoon trades. The company says its FY25 sales are set to hit a record, but the elevated marketing spend to achieve this result is hurting margins and underlying earnings.
Tabcorp (ASX:TAH) was down more than -3% in intra-day trade. There was no specific reason for the decline, but it’s likely due to investors behaving irrationally in response to global uncertainty.
JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) is set to pay around $14M to settle market regulator ACCC’s allegations its The Good Guys business made false or misleading representations about their store credit and ‘StoreCash’ promotions.