Australia's share market has edged slightly higher, as a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran hangs in the balance and a key oil transit route remains restricted.
The S&P/ASX200 rose 21.4 points on Thursday, up 0.24 per cent, to 8,973.2, as the broader All Ordinaries edged 3.2 points higher, up 0.03 per cent, to 9,168.9.
Oil prices rebounded and growth stocks sold off, as the US and Iran accused each other of shifting the key tenets of a two-week truce, and as Israel escalated its attacks on targets in Lebanon, killing more than 250 people.
“It has been a day of consolidation at the index level, and probably rightly so after yesterday’s rally and with growing questions around the details of the deal, which has been the bedrock of that ceasefire agreement,” IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.
“Markets will probably give the ceasefire the benefit of the doubt and look through some of the differences, as long as we start to see some of these ships get through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Peace talks between Iranian and US officials are set to begin in Pakistan on Friday, which will be Saturday in Australia.
The bourse's modest improvement came with only four of 11 local sectors trading higher, with energy stocks and financials doing some heavy lifting, while IT, health care and consumer discretionary stocks came under pressure.
Oil and gas giant Woodside jumped almost four per cent, while Santos was close behind as the West Texas crude oil benchmark rebounded from as low as $US90.50 a barrel to $US97 by the ASX close.
The benchmark was trading above $US111 ahead of the US-Iran truce on Wednesday.
Mega miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue were mixed as iron ore futures dropped sharply to $US105.20, as China reported record stockpiles.
Gold miners were broadly lower, as the precious metal eased to $US4,717 ($A6,706) an ounce.
Local banks were surprisingly strong, and provided a ballast to weakness elsewhere in the bourse, as Bendigo Bank rocketed eight per cent higher on the back of a strong trading update, new tech deals and planned job cuts, while the big four also won some interest.
Packaging giant Orora was the top-200's worst performer, tumbling 18 per cent after downgrading its guidance due to Middle East conflict impacts.
The Australian dollar is buying 70.39 US cents, down from 70.70 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm.
Even under a best-case scenario for the US-Iran ceasefire and a reopening of the Hormuz Strait, it would takes months for oil markets to return to normal, AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said.
"It's going to take time to reopen the oil extraction operations in the Gulf that were shut. It's going to take even longer for gas. The oil has to be loaded on ships, which then have to make their way around the world, including to Australia," Dr Oliver told AAP.
"In two months time you would start to see oil flow returning so that the feared shortages turn out to be short lived, or with the use of reserves headed off, and while petrol prices stay high for a period, they come down in the second half of the year and the global economy sort of dodges a bullet.
"That's probably the best outcome."
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 gained 21.4 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 8,973.2.
* The broader All Ordinaries rose 3.2 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 9,168.9.
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 70.39 US cents, from 70.70 US cents at 5pm AEDT on Wednesday.
* 111.80 Japanese yen, from 111.86 Japanese yen.
* 60.36 euro cents, from 60.45 euro cents.
* 52.56 British pence, from 52.64 British pence.
* 120.63 NZ cents, from 121.04 NZ cents.
