23 June 2025

NameDaily CloseDaily ChangeDaily Change (%)
Dow42,581.78374.960.89%
S&P 5006,025.1757.330.96%
Nasdaq19,630.97183.560.94%
VIX19.83-0.79-3.83%
Gold3,361.00-34-1.00%
Oil66.71-1.8-2.63%

OVERVIEW OF THE US MARKET

Wall Street traders drove stocks higher as oil tumbled, with Iran’s retaliatory strikes at a US air base in Qatar seen as symbolic and unable to trigger a broader economic fallout.

The S&P 500 rose almost 1% as Qatar said it intercepted the Iranian attacks, without any casualties. West Texas Intermediate dropped below $70 as Iran’s response eased concerns that the conflict would immediately disrupt supplies from the Middle East. With the drop in energy prices, worries about an imminent threat to inflation abated, with bond yields down as Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman signaled support for a potential rate cut as soon as July.

U.S. crude oil futures tumbled 7.2% after Iran launched missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar and at Iraq, with no casualties reported. The drop was a sharp reversal from Sunday night, when oil initially rose as much as 6% in response to the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites over the weekend. President Trump’s decision to bomb Iran had raised fears that Tehran might retaliate by attacking critical energy infrastructure.

The Middle East accounts for about a third of global crude production and there haven’t yet been any signs of disruption to physical oil flows, including for cargoes going through the Strait of Hormuz. Since Israel’s attacks began earlier this month, there have been signs that Iranian oil shipments out of the Gulf have risen rather than declined.

According to the Morgan Stanley team, prior geopolitical risk events have led to some volatility for equities in the short term, but one, three and 12 months after the events, the S&P 500 has been up 2%, 3%, and 9%, on average, respectively.

OVERVIEW OF THE AUSTRALIAN MARKET

The Australian sharemarket fell to a three-week low as investors braced for Tehran’s response after the US attacked Iran’s nuclear sites over the weekend, pushing oil prices higher.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 30.6 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 8474.9 on Monday – its lowest since June 3 – as seven out of the 11 sectors slipped.
The Australian dollar dropped to around US64¢, its lowest level in almost five weeks. The Aussie, which is often used as a proxy for global growth and risk appetite, is on track for a 1.6 per cent drop this month but was still sharply higher on the year.
Still, the losses on the ASX were more modest than some had feared.
Risk-off sentiment hit the tech sector as investors took profits. WiseTech Global dropped 1 per cent to $106.14, TechnologyOne slipped 0.9 per cent to $40.21, and Zip slid 3.5 per cent to $2.77.
Mining stocks also weighed on the bourse, led by a 1.6 per cent drop for iron ore giant BHP to $35.64 and a 1 per cent fall for Fortescue to $14.54. And gold stocks tracked the precious metal lower, despite its usual safe-haven appeal. Northern Star dropped 3.1 per cent to $19.88 and Evolution declined 2.6 per cent to $7.62.
Energy stocks, meanwhile, climbed after Brent rallied as much as 5.7 per cent to $US81.40 a barrel after the US bombed three main nuclear sites in Iran. Santos climbed 1 per cent to $7.78, while Ampol rose by 0.5 per cent to $25.87.
And while banks initially sold off in the morning session, Commonwealth Bank continued to push higher after resetting its intraday record of $184.41. It closed up 1 per cent to $184.35.