The Australian sharemarket rebounded on Tuesday, recovering from seven-week lows touched in the previous session after U.S. President Donald Trump delayed planned military strikes on Iran, easing concerns over escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 99.4 points, or 1.2%, to close at 8,604.7, with nine of the 11 sectors finishing in positive territory.
The Consumer Staples sector led the gains, supported by a 3.7% lift in Woolworths shares after JPMorgan upgraded the supermarket giant to an “overweight” recommendation.
Coles added 2.7%, Endeavour Group gained 2.3% and Elders traded 2.2% higher.
The Telecommunications sector also posted strong gains, driven by a sharp rebound in shares of TPG Telecom-backed mobile operator Tuas, which rebounded 17.6% after plunging 62.8% in the previous session.
The recovery followed comments from Singapore’s regulator indicating the company’s local mobile phone brand may have breached regulatory requirements.
Real estate investment trusts were broadly stronger, with Goodman Group up 1.8%, Charter Hall adding 2.2%, Mirvac up 0.9% and Vicinity Centres advancing 1.6%.
The major banks also contributed to the market rebound, with Commonwealth Bank up 1.3%, National Australia Bank gaining 2%, ANZ up 1.3%, and Westpac finishing 1.9% higher.
Energy stocks traded mixed as oil prices pulled back from recent highs following Trump’s decision to postpone military action against Iran.
Woodside Energy added 0.4%, Beach Energy gained 0.9%, while Santos finished flat.
In company news, TechnologyOne dropped 2.9% despite reaffirming its FY26 guidance and reporting a record first-half profit for the 17th consecutive period.
Although the software company’s results were broadly in line with consensus expectations, investors were disappointed by the absence of a stronger earnings surprise.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Jackson Lee noted that foreign exchange headwinds, particularly in the United Kingdom market, weighed on sentiment.
On the bond markets, Australian 10-year and 2-year government bond yields fell 0.1% and 0.7% respectively to 5.063% and 4.696%.
