ASX flat as US launches strikes against Iran, Australian EV sales continue to surge in May — as it happened

We'll end our markets live coverage here and thank you for staying with us.

Our team will be back tomorrow morning with the latest.

Meanwhile, don't forget to catch The Business on ABC News at 8:44pm, after the late news on ABC TV, and any time on ABC iview.

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Vietnam will allow domestic coalmining companies to increase output to meet the country's rising power generation demand, the government said on Wednesday.

Coalminers can raise their output by up to 15 per cent above the quotas stated in their existing licences until the end of next year, according to a government statement.

The South-East Asian country has been facing higher prices for imported energy due to the US-Iran war, with the May inflation rate above the full-year target.

"The extra coal output is exclusively used for power generation," the government said.

Last month, Vietnam said a heatwave had already placed immense pressure on the national power grid, adding that the problem could get worse as the El Nino weather pattern is forecast to return from July.

Reporting with Reuters

The Australian share market has finished the day up 0.6% at 8,653 points.

The ASX 200 index has lost 1.5% over the last five days.

Australian shares initially climbed in early trade before surrendering those gains as the day progressed, said Marc Jocum, a senior product and investment strategist at Global X ETFs.

Mr Jocum said markets were also digesting fresh filings and fundraising activity across the AI ecosystem, including developments from Anthropic and OpenAI.

"Locally, consumer stocks were the standout performers," he noted.

"Consumer staples such as Coles and Woolworths gained as investors sought the relative safety of businesses with resilient demand, while more discretionary names including IDP Education and Nick Scali also advanced.

"Gold miners, however, were firmly out of favour. With bond yields climbing and rate expectations creeping higher, gold came under pressure.

"For now, Australian investors are sitting in the grandstand rather than rushing onto the field, waiting to see how the Middle East conflict, US inflation data and Friday's SpaceX IPO unfold before turning their attention to next week's RBA meeting, where markets expect the central bank to remain on hold."

Overall, the market had 112 stocks gaining, 2 unchanged and 86 in the red.

Among companies, the top mover was Steadfast Group, up 35.3%, followed by AUB Group, up 10%, and then Reece Ltd, up 9.9%.

It wasn't a good day for Silex Systems, down 10.4%, followed by 4DMedical and Ora Banda Mining, down 10% and 8.5%, respectively.

When looking at the sectors, Consumer Non-Cyclicals at the top, up 3.6%, followed by Consumer Cyclicals, up 3.2% and then Real Estate, up 1.6%.

Materials finished at the bottom, down 1.5%, followed by Energy, down 1.3%, and then Technology, down 0.7%.

China's producer prices rose for a third straight month in May, reaching the highest level since July 2022.

Cost pressures from the US-Iran war could squeeze corporate profits and further subdue domestic consumption, although global AI-related demand provided a boost for some sectors.

For manufacturers not in advanced manufacturing, passing higher input prices to consumers could remain difficult, highlighting headwinds policymakers face in their efforts to support the job market and bolster still-soft domestic demand.

The producer price index (PPI) rose 3.9% from a year earlier, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics data, above a 3.8% forecast in a Reuters poll and 2.8% rise in April.

Reporting with Reuters

Hi Craig,

Thank you for your question.

Gold fell to an 11-week low, as the dollar and oil prices rose on renewed hostilities between the US and Iran, fuelling concerns about inflation and interest rate hikes.

Spot gold was down 2% at $US4,175 per ounce at around 3pm AEST after hitting its lowest level since March 23.

US gold futures for August delivery also shed 1.9% to $US4,204.

"The driver really is the shift in Federal Reserve policy expectations, the rise in yields and the rise in the dollar," Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive, told Reuters.

"I think all of those things are weighing on gold."

Hope this helps!

Japanese energy giant Inpex has launched proceedings with the Fair Work Commission seeking urgent orders to stop strike action at its Ichthys LNG facility in Darwin.

Earlier in the week, the Offshore Alliance flagged on social media that more than 400 workers would escalate protected industrial action and accused Inpex of "completely butchering" enterprise bargaining negotiations.

A fair work hearing has been scheduled for Friday.

Read more on the reporting of my colleagues Roxanne Fitzgerald and Sam Parr.

Australian miners fall as much as 1.5%, with Fortescue sliding 1.7%, Rio Tinto tumbling 1%, and BHP dropping 0.2%.

Reuters reported miners would be on course for their fourth consecutive session of losses if the current trend holds

Miners slip on the back of falling iron prices, driven by higher steel exports from China and lower metal prices, it said.

China and Hong Kong stocks slid on Wednesday, tracking a broader sell-off across Asian markets as escalating tensions between the US and Iran curbed investor risk appetite, although chipmakers and defensive sectors showed resilience.

At the midday break, the Shanghai Composite index was down 0.6% at 3,986 points. China's blue-chip CSI300 index slipped 1%.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index was down 1.1% at 24,292 points. The Hang Seng Tech index dropped 1.7%.

Reporting with Reuters

We have dived into Woolworths' plan to ship hundreds of corporate jobs offshore in our latest episode of ABC Business Daily.

We also have more on Barbeques Galore, which is winding up, leaving hundreds of workers facing redundancy. What to make of these retail shakeups?

And why is Wesfarmers positive about the transformational power of AI?

Carrington Clarke and ABC Business Reporter Steph Chalmers will break it all down for you here.

• ASX 200: flat to 8,601 points
  
• Australian dollar: -0.2% at 70.15 US cents 
• Wall Street: Dow Jones (+0.2%), S&P 500 (-0.3%)
• Europe: FTSE (-1.4%)
• Asia: Nikkei (-2.4%), KOSPI (-6.4%), Hang Seng (-1.1%)
• Spot gold: -2% to $US4,175/ounce 
• Oil (Brent crude): +0.6% at $US92/barrel 
• Iron ore: +0.4% to $US101.50/tonne 
• Bitcoin: -1.5% to $US61,245

Prices current around 3:02pm AEST

Live updates on the major ASX indices:

The US is seeking to release some of its strategic energy reserves and boost sales of liquefied petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas to ASEAN, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau has said.

"The current energy crisis has clearly outlined the need for countries to diversify energy resources, and the United States wants to work with you to help ASEAN member states not only navigate the current situation, but also to support long-term energy security and resilience," Mr Landau said at an ASEAN Future forum in Hanoi.

The US has sent shipments of crude oil and LPG to the Philippines to help mitigate supply shortages, he added.

Reporting with Reuters

Residents in the US state of Mississippi are suing Elon Musk's xAI and SpaceX, saying a power plant fuelling nearby data centres is blasting "omnipresent and inescapable" noise, eroding their health and home values.

The lawsuit, made public in a federal court on Tuesday, local time, alleges Mr Musk's companies negligently failed to curb the disturbance and created a public nuisance through excessive and offensive noise.

Three residents filed the class action case on behalf of an estimated 10,000 people.

Read more here.

Australian defence technology company Boresight's shares have spiked by 70% after its ASX listing today.

The $8 million IPO, priced at $0.20 per share, gives the company a market capitalisation of approximately $41.8 million on listing.

The firm specialised in low-cost aerial target drones for counter-drone training, it said in a statement.

Managing Director and CEO Justin Olde said Boresight was proof that Australia can build a world-class offering.

"The scale of opportunity for Boresight is big. If you think about the number of soldiers around the world who need to be trained in this area, it's a big number. 

"We'll use the funds from the raise to invest in new manufacturing capability and grow our team to capitalise on this opportunity and continue to develop our offering."

CSPB, the fertiliser company owned by WesCEF, the chemical and fertiliser arm of Wesfarmers, suffered significant supply disruption when maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz started in the wake of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran back in February.

Speaking to analysts today, WesCEF's managing director Aaron Hood said the company's FY26 earnings were expected take a hit from the spike in ammonia prices observed immediately after the conflict, but that would turn into an earnings boost in FY27.

"Given WesCEF is a manufacturer of around half of the ammonia it uses, higher ammonia prices will flow through to higher earnings for the business."

In response to delayed fertiliser shipments, WesCEF "increased domestic production of liquid fertiliser in partnership with our chemicals business, combining that with alternative international supply".

"This has helped maintain availability for WA farmers," Mr Hood said.

Scott Ryall, principal at Rimor Equity Research, asked about the on-going impact for farmers; "if the Middle East situation finishes now, how long is it until all these things are flushed through the system?"

Aaron Hood said the war started at a critical time for WA farmers, who were not only making crop planting decisions, but also contending with higher fuel costs and potential diesel shortages.

"There was definitely, we think, a maybe 5 to 15% kind of reduction, whether it was the type of crops planted or what was actually, you know, whether paddocks were left fallow for the year."

Mr Hood said the ramp up in domestic manufacturing combined with federal government support for imported volumes, while prices may be higher, WA farmers would have access to fertiliser.

"We've been able to secure availability and make it work for everyone."

Woolworths' plan to offshore hundreds of corporate jobs is the latest in a string of companies this year to announce plans to shift some operations offshore, following similar announcements by Telstra, NAB, and Officeworks.

The retailer would not confirm how many of its 10,000 corporate employees would be affected, but the ABC understands hundreds will be affected in teams including People, IT and Finance.

Its consultations with potentially affected staff will begin today.

My colleague Gareth Hutchens has more.

Despite the lapse in the ceasefire, a deal is still expected, though now by early July, according to Madison Cartwright,  geopolitical and geo-economic analyst at Commonwealth Bank.

"The US remains reluctant to return to a ‘hot’ war with Iran," Dr Cartwright said.

"President Trump’s public calls for Israel not to respond to Iran’s attacks and the US’s refusal to join Israel’s attacks on Iran demonstrate President Trump’s preference for diplomacy."

He added that, in his view, Iran was getting frustrated with delays in negotiations.

"Iran’s escalation seeks to shift the incentive structure for the US by eliminating the status quo as an option and forcing a binary choice between a deal or a return to war.

"We continue to expect a deal (70%), though now by early July."

Meta has announced it has entered an agreement with Reliance Industries, owned by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, to lease its first AI-enabled data centre in India.

As part of the agreement, Reliance will build a data centre with 168 MW capacity, which Meta will lease, with options to scale, the company said in a statement.

Here's what Meta's founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said:

"We’re proud to be working with Reliance to build our first AI-enabled data centre in India.

"This world-class facility in Jamnagar will help us scale our AI infrastructure globally while deepening our long-term investment in India’s economy."

The long-dormant Mount Todd gold mine, near Katherine, is gearing up to restart production from one of the NT's biggest gold reserves.

The mine is seeking final approvals and hopes to begin engineering work in the next 12 months, with the first gold bars likely to be poured in 2030.

My colleague James Elton is reporting from Katherine.

The Australian market was modestly higher, gaining 0.4% to 9,639 points, as we enter almost the middle of the trading day.

The Consumer Cyclicals sector led the ASX 200, rising 2.3%, followed by Consumer Non-Cyclicals, up 1.8%, and Real Estate, up 1.3%.

Energy dropped 0.7% following US's strikes on Iran. Technology and Materials also made losses, down 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively.

The top movers were,

• Reece Ltd, +10.7%
• AUB Group, +7.2%
• James Hardie Industries, +4.9%
• IDP Education, +48%
• Reliance Worldwide Corporation, +4.1%

The bottom movers were,

• Silex Systems, -7.9%
• 4DMedical. -7.2%
• Ora Banda Mining, -6.8%
• Bellevue Gold, -6.4%
• IGO, -5.5%