Australian shares are flat as a deal between Iran and key western powers to halt its nuclear program hit the big miners.
Iran and six world powers say they have reached an interim agreement that would for the first time roll back portions of Iran’s nuclear program. In return, some economic sanctions against Iran will be eased.
The six-month accord, reached in Geneva on Sunday (European time), is continuing to hit gold and oil prices, Australian Stock Report senior equity analyst Benny Sada says.
“It’s diminished the safe-haven appeal of commodities like gold. It’s also boosted expectations that we’re going to get an increase in crude supply in the next six to 12 months,” he said.
Diversified miner BHP Billiton lost 16 cents to $37.73, Rio Tinto shed 51 cents to $64.89, iron ore miner Fortescue dropped eight cents to $5.74 and gold miner Newcrest gave up four cents to $8.22.
Among the major banks, Westpac lifted 26 cents to $32.78, ANZ gained 10 cents to $31.89, Commonwealth Bank rose 32 cents to $76.59 while National Australia Bank was up 6.5 cents at $34.165 as investors assessed the prospect of another Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate cut.
“I would put that down to just more expectations for another RBA interest rate cut,” Mr Sada said.
Meanwhile, Telstra fell one cent to $5.07.
On US markets, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lifted 7.8 points to 16,072 overnight, a fresh all time high, but the broader the S&P 500 lost 2.3 points or 0.13 per cent.
The weak lead from Wall Street had led to curtailed gains on the local market, Mr Sada said.
“Our market’s flat on the back of that.”
KEY FACTS
* At 1200 AEDT on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 4.4 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 5,357.2.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 4.7 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 5,350.8.
* The December share price index futures contract was six points weaker at 5,368 with 9,385 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 621 million securities worth $1.2 billion.
