Sydney, May 25, 2026, 20:03 AEST
- The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.4% to finish at 8,692, marking its best close since May 11.
- Miners were out front, but energy stocks dropped as crude slipped under $100 a barrel.
- Investors are watching for Australia’s April inflation numbers, set for release Wednesday.
Australian shares ended Monday at their highest in two weeks after miners and gold stocks outperformed. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 35 points, or 0.4%, to 8,692, up for a third session. Oil fell as some traders bet on progress in U.S.-Iran talks, helping cool fears of a new inflation bump.
Australia’s market is reacting to oil, inflation and interest-rate worries. Oil’s drop eased concerns about high fuel costs keeping inflation up, but local energy producers took a hit from the lower price.
Australia’s April Consumer Price Index comes out Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. AEST, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The last CPI print was up 4.6% year over year in March, compared to 3.7% in February, which keeps pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia as it heads into its June policy meeting.
Australian investors look “cautiously optimistic rather than outright bullish,” Marc Jocum, senior product and investment strategist at Global X ETFs, told Reuters. He said many are waiting for clearer geopolitical signs before taking on more risk. Trading volumes on the local bourse stayed under the 30-day average, Reuters said. The Business Times
Materials climbed 1.84% and the gold sub-index advanced 4.9%. BHP was up 0.7%, Rio Tinto rose 1.6%. Northern Star Resources jumped 5.5%, with Evolution Mining adding 4.3%.
Energy lagged. The sector dropped 2.4% to its lowest level since May 15. Woodside Energy lost 4.2%. Santos slid 3.6%. The fall in crude prices weighed on the near-term revenue outlook for oil and gas names.
Financial stocks slipped. The group dipped as Commonwealth Bank of Australia dropped 0.7%. Jocum said banks may keep moving apart, with lenders facing pressure to cut costs and improve efficiency to protect their earnings.
Charter Hall gained 6.7% after the group raised its FY26 operating earnings per security guidance to 103 cents, up from 100 cents. The property fund manager reported year-to-date gross equity inflows of $6.5 billion. CEO David Harrison said FY26 will be the “strongest year of capital raising” seen in Charter Hall’s 35-year run.
Guzman y Gomez shares were in focus again after the chain announced Friday it will shut its Chicago locations right away. Founder and co-CEO Steven Marks said the U.S. business needed “significantly more time and capital” than the team expected, and sales just didn’t hit targets.
GYG is now being sued in the U.S. by ex-workers who say they weren’t given enough notice ahead of store closures. A spokesperson said to Reuters the company is “confident” it followed the law. Reuters reported shares opened up more than 10% Monday before falling back. Reuters
The rally is shaky. A breakdown in Middle East talks or a bounce in oil could bring inflation worries right back, just as they did when rates climbed earlier this year. A higher-than-expected CPI on Wednesday would hit rate-sensitive sectors like property, banks, and consumer discretionary shares, making them prone to a pullback.
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 edged down 0.2% to 12,970.28. Investors are looking ahead to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand meeting on Wednesday. A Reuters poll found most economists see the central bank keeping rates at 2.25%.
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