Closing Bell: Escalating Middle East tensions fuel scramble for energy as ASX closes down | Stockhead
ASX energy stocks were higher today as investors barrelled into oil. Pic: Getty ImagesASX closes 0. 06% lower as energy rises on back of escalating Middle East tensions and tech sells offEQ Resourcesrose more. . .
ASX energy stocks were higher today as investors barrelled into oil. Pic: Getty ImagesASX closes 0. 06% lower as energy rises on back of escalating Middle East tensions and tech sells offEQ Resourcesrose more than 30% after Andrew Forrest’s investment vehicle agreed to buy Oaktree’s 16. 8% stakeAsian market mostly fell on escalating tensions in the Middle East and weaker sentiment in technology sectorThe ASX spent Monday doing plenty of moving without going far, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing down just 5. 40 points or 0. 06% to 8791. 30 points with energy offsetting another tech selloff. Brent crude climbed above US$90 a barrel after the US-Iran ceasefire effectively collapsed and attacks spread across ships, ports and oil infrastructure. Woodside Energy Group (ASX:WDS),Santos (ASX:STO)andKaroon Energy (ASX:KAR)all rose as energy did the heavy lifting. Technology was nursing Friday’s Nasdaq hangover, while gold miners also softened as higher oil prices revived US rate hike fears, leaving bullion down near US$4000 an ounce. In the large caps space,EQ Resources (ASX:EQR)rocketed more than 30% after Andrew Forrest’s investment vehicle agreed to buy Oaktree’s 16. 8% stake for about $190 million. With EQ already up more than fivefold in a year, Twiggy’s arrival gives the tungsten producer some serious validation. Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL)gained about 8% after awarding $34 million in construction contracts for its Tumas uranium project. South32 (ASX:S32)climbed after beating FY26 production guidance. Perenti (ASX:PRN)edged higher on a six-month, $95 million Ghana contract extension. Meanwhile,Webjet (ASX:WEB)interim chair Gary Weiss spent another $1 million on 2. 36 million shares. His associated portfolio services entities now hold 24. 5 million shares, although Webjet remains down about 50% since the start of the year. Source: Market IndexAsian Markets under pressureMarkets around the region mostly fell today on escalating tensions in the Middle East and weaker sentiment in technology sectors. After heavy falls last week, South Korea’s Kospi slumped 4. 32% today, dragged lower by falls in index heavyweights Samsung Electronics, down 4. 31%, and SK Hynix, down 3. 26%, on continued weakness in US semiconductor stocks. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 4. 03%, with Japan particularly exposed given its heavy reliance on Middle East oil imports. China markets were mixed, with the Hang Seng up 1. 66% while the SSE Composite fell 0. 46%. ASX LeadersToday’s best performing stocks (including small caps):Hamelin Gold (ASX:HMG)surged 40% today after intersecting shallow, high-grade gold in maiden drilling at the Aurora lode within its Day Dawn project, highlighted by 3m at 93. 4g/t from just 9m. Assays from a further 13 holes are expected in early August, ahead of a 3000m follow-up program targeting extensions and parallel lodes. GCM Corporation (ASX:GCM)rose 19% today after releasing its latest commercial strategy to scale its proprietary VHD thermal management technology, which converts graphite flake into high-performance cooling solutions for power-intensive electronics. The company said it is targeting growing demand from AI servers, data centres, high-performance computing and consumer electronics, with plans to commercialise a range of standard and customised thermal management products. Boresight (ASX:BST)also climbed 19% today after leasing a new manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Alabama, around 15 times larger than its existing US site and initially capable of producing more than 5000 BQ-400 target drones a year. Production is set to begin transferring to the new facility from August, increasing manufacturing capacity while reducing freight costs, tariff exposure and delivery times for US defence customers. ASX LaggardsToday’s worst performing stocks (including small caps):ICYMI1414 Degrees (ASX:14D)isassessing early revenue opportunitiesfor its planned Aurora Energy Precinct in South Australia through potential EV charging infrastructure and supplying power to modular data centres. Arika Resources (ASX:ARI)haslaunched a major gold drilling campaignas it advances exploration across its Kookynie and Yundamindra projects in Western Australian. Barkly Minerals (ASX:BAK)hasstarted a 10,000m drilling campaignto expand its rare earth resource at the Barkly project in the Northern Territory. LTR Pharma (ASX:LTP)has moved closer to aUS launch of its erectile dysfunction treatmentafter signing a supply agreement with Strive Pharmacy. Minerals Exploration (ASX:MEX)has identified newgold targets at its Waitekauri projectin New Zealand as drilling continues to build exploration momentum. Power Minerals (ASX:PNN)hasextended drilling at Morro do Ferroahead of pending assay results from its Brazilian rare earth project. Trading HaltsADX Energy (ASX:ADX)– cap raiseAguia Resources (ASX:AGR)– cap raiseCodeifai (ASX:CDE)– cap raisePeninsula Energy (ASX:PEN)– production guidance reviewThis article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions. At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While 1414 Degrees, Arika Resources, Barkly Minerals, LTR Pharma, Minerals Exploration and Power Minerals are Stockhead advertisers, the companies did not sponsor this article.