Sydney, March 2, 2026, 18:00 (AEDT) — After-hours
- Qantas (ASX:QAN) dropped roughly 5.4% to close at A$9.41, swinging from A$8.92 to A$9.50 during the session.
- Brent crude surged nearly 13% at the open in Asia before settling around a 7% gain.
- Qantas shares will go ex-dividend on March 10, ahead of the interim payout slated for April 15.
Shares of Qantas Airways Ltd lost ground Monday, caught up in a sector-wide selloff as concerns over escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran sparked worries about rising fuel costs and potential travel disruptions. Latest price: A$9.41.
Shares in Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Japan Airlines each slid over 5% as investors reassessed airline stocks in the region, according to Reuters. Morningstar’s Nicole Lim pointed to worries over rising fuel prices, flight cancellations, and the extra expense of rerouting flights with airports and airspace closed.
This hits Qantas, too, despite not flying straight to the Middle East. Once major hubs are knocked offline, connections unravel—airlines might burn extra fuel on stretched-out routes or end up with half-empty flights just to reposition crews and jets.
Oil’s the hammer in play right now. Brent crude surged roughly 10%, trading at about $80 a barrel over the counter on Sunday. Analysts flagged a possible spike to $100 if trouble near the Strait of Hormuz sticks around. “The key factor here is the closing of the Strait of Hormuz,” said Ajay Parmar, director of energy and refining at ICIS. Reuters
Chaos at major airports was clear. According to Reuters, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha either shut down or faced heavy restrictions, with regional airspace closures leaving passengers stuck and airlines scrambling to cancel or reroute flights. “It’s the sheer volume of people and the complexity,” said UK-based aviation analyst John Strickland. Reuters
Australian shares barely flinched. The S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.03% by the close, lifted by energy and gold stocks. Travel names struggled.
Qantas shares reflected the jitters—no fresh company news drove the move. The stock dropped as low as A$8.92 before bouncing back, traders wrestling with the question of pricey fuel’s duration and the extent of global schedule fallout.
The calendar throws in a fresh wrinkle. Qantas goes ex-dividend March 10, so anyone buying after that date misses out on the next payout. That timing can shake up positioning, particularly with markets this jumpy.
The risk on the downside is clear enough: persistent high crude and ongoing Gulf hub bottlenecks could double up the pain for the sector — with rising costs plus weaker demand — and that’s true even for carriers steering clear of those routes. Quick de-escalation, though, would probably claw back part of Monday’s panic move.
Crude prices and the latest conflict headlines are likely to draw traders’ focus heading into Tuesday. For Qantas, the calendar circles March 10—the ex-dividend date for the stock.
