SYDNEY, March 10, 2026, 22:07 AEDT
Australian stocks bounced on Tuesday, recouping some of Monday’s steep declines as falling crude prices spurred buying in miners and banks. The S&P/ASX 200 closed 1.09% higher at 8,692.60, according to ASX data.
The bounce comes after Monday’s sharp rout, which erased about A$197.1 billion ($138.15 billion) from the market and stirred up worries that war-fueled oil spikes would push up fuel and overall prices in Australia. Brent crude, which had surged above $119 a barrel the previous day, dropped roughly 7% on Tuesday.
This was just one piece of a broader relief rally. MSCI’s broad Asia-Pacific index, excluding Japan, jumped about 3.3%. Still, Fiona Cincotta at City Index noted investors were “literally hanging on every word” from U.S. President Donald Trump—sentiment, she pointed out, can flip in an instant. Reuters
Materials bounced back after five straight sessions in the red. The mining sub-index jumped 2%, with BHP Group up 2.3% and Rio Tinto tacking on 0.6%. Financials logged their strongest day in almost three weeks, climbing 1.3%, as all of Australia’s big four banks advanced between 1.4% and 1.9%. Tech, healthcare, and gold names pushed ahead too, each up from 1.8% to 2.1%.
Energy stocks moved lower. The energy sub-index slid 2.9%, notching its steepest decline since mid-September, while Woodside Energy lost 3.8%—this just after the sector set a record high on Monday. According to Hebe Chen, senior market analyst at Vantage Markets, the move looked tactical, with the geopolitical “fear premium”—that extra lift in oil prices on supply jitters—beginning to unwind. indopremier.com
Oil took a hit—Brent tumbled $6.75 to $92.21 a barrel at 1012 GMT. Both Brent and U.S. crude had been down as much as 11% earlier in the session. But Suvro Sarkar, who leads DBS Bank’s energy sector team, argued the market might be “underappreciating risks” at those prices, pointing out that not much had shifted on the ground. Reuters
That’s the risk traders are weighing now. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced the Strait of Hormuz would stay blocked until both U.S. and Israeli strikes stop, pushing the key oil route deeper into the spotlight. “It may not be as simple as just declaring the end of the war,” cautioned Rodrigo Catril, senior currency strategist at National Australia Bank. Reuters
This is fueling the policy debate in Australia. Analysts at National Australia Bank point out that higher prices for oil and oil-product imports tend to push up local inflation fast. Merewether Capital’s Luke Winchester isn’t optimistic right now; he thinks the market keeps sliding until there’s a believable move away from conflict with Iran. Tuesday’s gain clawed back only a slice of Monday’s 2.85% tumble.
