The local share market has slipped after the US rejected Iran’s latest peace proposal to end the Middle East war, and as a huge plunge by a prominent biotech name weighed on the bourse.
The S&P/ASX200 index on Monday fell 42.6 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 8,701.8 while the broader All Ordinaries dropped 38.1 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 8,942.4.
EToro market analyst Josh Gilbert said that risk-off sentiment was likely to prevail after US President Donald Trump slammed Iran’s offer to end the war, injecting fresh uncertainty into markets at the start of a critical week.
“Trump calling the offer ‘totally unacceptable’ is exactly the kind of headline that markets hate,” Mr Gilbert said.
This week, investors will be watching a highly anticipated summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing and another US inflation readout.
Domestically, traders are waiting for details of Australia’s 2026/27 federal budget, which Treasurer Jim Chalmers will hand down on Tuesday night.
Seven of the ASX’s 11 sectors finished lower on Monday, with energy, materials and property higher and consumer staples basically flat.
Health care was by far the biggest mover, dropping 6.5 per cent as CSL sank 16.0 per cent to a more than decade-low of $100.75 on profit downgrades and asset write-offs.
CSL shares are now down 41.6 per cent so far in 2026, on top of a 38.7 per cent drop in 2025, and the company’s $16.4 billion acquisition of a Swiss iron deficiency business in August 2022 is looking like a huge strategic blunder.
In the financial sector, all of the big retail banks were lower, with ANZ falling 2.4 per cent to $35.90, Westpac retreating 0.9 per cent to $37.12, NAB dipping 0.4 per cent to $38.22 and CBA subtracting 1.1 per cent to $174.01.
The energy sector was up 1.1 per cent as Brent crude hit a five-day high of $US105 a barrel on the renewed tension in the Middle East, with Woodside up 1.5 per cent and Karoon Energy rising 1.0 per cent.
Uranium developers had a good day, with Paladin, Deep Yellow, Bannerman and Boss all rising from 4.6 to 6.5 per cent.
In the heavyweight material sector, Dyno Nobel climbed 6.6 per cent to a three-month high of $3.54 after the explosives manufacturer announced it had made a $20 million first-half profit, up from $7 million a year ago.
Elsewhere in the sector, Rio Tinto grew 0.6 per cent to $179.79 while BHP and Fortescue both added 0.7 per cent, to $58.33 and $21.42 respectively.
However, goldminers slipped as the precious metal traded for $US4,682 an ounce, down about $40 from Friday.
Northern Star dropped 1.9 per cent, Evolution lost 0.7 per cent and Regis Resources subtracted 3.4 per cent.
In consumer staples, Metcash climbed 6.6 per cent to a four-week high of $2.92 after the IGA supplier said it expected to declare an underlying profit of $268 million to $270 million.
“We have delivered a solid result,” chief executive Doug Jones said.
OOh!media climbed 7.1 per cent to $1.35 after the out-of-home advertising company received a second takeover offer from a private equity company
Ingham’s rose 7.4 per cent to $1.82 after the poultry processor reaffirmed guidance of between $180 million and $200 million.
In currency, the Australian dollar remained at an almost four-year high against its US counterpart, buying 72.38 US cents, from 72.24 US cents about 5pm on Friday.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 dropped 42.6 points, or 0.49 per cent, to 8,701.8
* The broader All Ordinaries fell 42.6 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 8,942.4.
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 72.38 US cents, from 72.24 US cents at 5pm AEST on Friday
* 113.67 Japanese yen, from 113.33 Japanese yen
* 61.54 euro cents, from 61.53 euro cents
* 53.25 British pence, from 53.19 British pence
* 121.70 NZ cents, from 121.38 NZ cents