Laura Bessarati

So if you cast your mind back to Friday, I know it feels like a while ago, but the Aussie market was down by one and a half percent.

So that was our worst day in quite a little while.

But today we've just extended those declines.

Now, earlier on in the day, it was worse.

So we're down about twice as much, down by 1.1 percent at our worst levels.

At the moment, heading into the close, down by roughly half of one percent.

And really, this is all hinging on the back of the situation between the US and Iran, which is

you know, continuing for how many months now?

So it started on the 28th of February and now we're at the 11th of May.

So it's been going on much longer than many had potentially initially expected.

Yeah, and I think it's just that back and forth between maybe these tensions are going to be over sometime soon and then the next day they're not going to be over.

So really just feeling concerns that tensions could continue escalating.

So we did see a response in the oil market, as has been the case, you know, since the conflict began.

So we did see oil prices climb to around 105 US a barrel.

So higher on the back of, you know, those doubts that a peace deal will be reached anytime soon.

So that really flowed through to the Aussie market in terms of energy stocks improving.

So they are one of the few bright spots amid almost a sea of red, so up by roughly 1%.

But if you do recall, you know, we did have some optimism over the course of last week that perhaps the deal could be close to, you know, they could be close to an agreement between the US and Iran that weighed on oil prices and energy stocks improving.

last week.

So over the course of last week, we did see energy being one of the worst performing sectors.