The Australian sharemarkets finished little changed on Tuesday as investors weighed escalating military tensions between the United States and Iran, fuelling fresh inflation concerns over potential disruptions to global energy supplies.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed virtually unchanged at 8,808.5, with seven of the 11 sectors finishing higher.
Energy stocks led the gains after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the reinstatement of a blockade on Iranian shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and proposed a 20% fee on all other cargo transiting the strategic waterway, sending oil prices sharply higher.
Within the sector, Santos rose 1.3%, Woodside Energy gained 3.0%, Beach Energy advanced 2.3%, and Viva Energy climbed 2.2%.
Real estate investment trusts were the weakest performers of the session. Goodman Group fell 2.7%, Charter Hall declined 1.3%, Scentre Group lost 1.0%, and Vicinity Centres retreated 1.9%.
Financials also weighed on the benchmark, with Commonwealth Bank slipping 0.4%, National Australia Bank falling 0.9%, Westpac Banking Corp declining 0.7%, and ANZ Group shedding 1.0%.
Among individual stocks, Light & Wonder jumped 8.0% to lead the gains after the gaming company reaffirmed it remains on track to deliver mid-to-high single-digit consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) growth for the second quarter ended 30 June.
Kingsgate Consolidated was the session's worst performer, plunging 16.1% after warning of a processing interruption at its Chatree gold mine in Thailand.
Genesis Minerals rose 2.0%, while Vault Minerals gained 1.4% after the companies agreed to an A$12.6 billion merger that will create one of Australia's largest gold producers, targeting annual production of between 600,000 and 700,000 ounces.
On the bond markets, the Australian 10-year government bond yield rose 0.5% to 4.912%, while the two-year yield eased 0.7% to 4.525%.
