ASX 200 surges to best close in over a month as Iran deadline looms
The Australian sharemarket posted its strongest session in more than a month as investors shrugged off geopolitical uncertainty to drive a broad-based rally across all sectors.
The S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.74% higher, with 149 of the benchmark's 200 stocks finishing in the green.
Information Technology led the charge, propelled by a strong 11.8% surge in data centre operator NextDC (ASX:NXT) after the company launched a $1 billion capital raise cornerstoned by Canadian investment giant La Caisse.
The raise, structured with a 100-year maturity, will fund NextDC's ambitious data centre growth pipeline.
Resources and the major banks added further support. Strengthening iron ore and lithium prices lifted BHP 2.87% and Rio Tinto 2.56%, while gold miner Northern Star gained 2.15%.
Commonwealth Bank led the big four up 2.4%, with each of the major banks adding at least 1.72%.
The rally has left the index sitting roughly level for the year, though the mood could quickly sour.
US President Donald Trump's deadline threatening strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure expires tonight, and markets are watching closely for any sign of escalation.
CBA senior geo-economics analyst Dr Madison Cartwright is forecasting the US will escalate this month, extending the conflict into June. Though he believes the worst-case scenario of widespread infrastructure damage will be avoided.
"By May we believe the economic costs of the war will be so acute that there will be greater scope for a political solution," Cartwright said.
Among the session's other notable movers, Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX) jumped 5.1% after reporting a 24% year-on-year lift in group revenue and advancing several regulatory pipelines, including a new drug application with the US FDA for its brain imaging candidate.
Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) surged 7% after announcing it would offload $3.7 billion in whole-of-loans to Challenger (ASX:CGF) in a 12-month forward flow arrangement.
BOQ expects to deliver a 15 to 25 basis point improvement in return on equity in FY26. Challenger slipped 2.18%.
Outdoor apparel supplier KMD Brands (ASX:KMD), owner of Kathmandu and Rip Curl shed a further 10%, having already lost around half its value last week following a $65 million equity raise.
UBS maintained a buy rating, setting a price target of $0.11. The broker argued the raise had de-risked the company's balance sheet. KMD closed at 6.2 cents.
Comments ()