End-of-day summary:
Australian stocks halved their initial losses as a surge in oil prices and a slump in US stock futures weakened in the wake of the US's bombing attack on Iran.
The ASX 200 cut an 84-point morning loss to 31 points or 0.36% by the close.
The market dived at the open as the threat of disruption to Middle East crude supply drove Brent crude briefly above US$81 a barrel. Stocks unwound some of their losses as the international oil benchmark trimmed its rally to 1.49% at US$78.16 a barrel and as US stock futures improved. By the Australian close, S&P 500 futures were off 0.27% after opening almost 0.9% in the red when trade resumed on Sunday night.
Santos, CBA and Westpac were the best of the heavyweights here, cushioning the index against falls in BHP, Rio Tinto, Woolworths and ANZ.
