Gulf Tensions Affect Markets, Australian Share Market Edges Up

The local share market has slightly increased in early trade as the end of the financial year approaches.

Wall Street closed the week lower due to rising tensions in the Middle East and concerns about interest rates and the tech sector.

Follow the day's financial news and insights from our specialist business reporters on our live blog.

The consumer watchdog will closely monitor fuel price changes as the government extends its fuel excise discount at a reduced rate.

The ASX 200 has bounced around in early trade, gaining as much as 0.6% and slipping nearly back to where it started the session.

Most sectors have made ground, although real estate and utilities are lower as some of their key constituents went ex-dividend this morning.

The tech sector has performed well, despite the recent malaise on Wall Street's Nasdaq index.

The Australian dollar will continue to be under pressure from the rising US dollar, according to CBA's foreign exchange research team.

Iran and the United States have agreed to halt recent hostilities in the Gulf and renew talks over their dispute.

The ASX appears to be holding up despite Wall Street's retreat on Friday, but the tech sector doesn't have an outsized influence in Australia.

The corporate and macro calendars are looking a bit empty today, but the game's afoot, so let's get blogging.

The ASX 200 futures were pointing to a 0.2% gain, which would be a handy start after the market shed 0.7% last week.

The Reserve Bank of Australia's new framework for using additional policy tools will help prepare for future episodes with low interest rates.

The framework sets out how the Monetary Policy Board would approach the design, use, and exit from additional tools, highlighting key judgments and decisions.

The cash rate target would remain the RBA's primary and preferred instrument for managing inflation, with the new framework for managing strange times in the future.

The ASX 200 has made a solid start to the day's trading, opening 0.5% higher to 8,806 points.

The broader All Ordinaries index is also up around 0.5%.

Neuren Pharmaceuticals shares have jumped sharply on news that its DAYBUE drug is nearing approval for sale in Europe.

The EU's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has adopted a positive opinion in recommending a marketing authorisation for the DAYBUE drug.

The Australian dollar is expected to stay on its downward path due to a stronger USD and residual pricing for another interest rate increase by the RBA.

The CBA team forecasts the Aussie dollar will consolidate near 0.6081 Euro cents this week, with downside risks to AUD/EUR over the coming months.

Firmus Technologies has signed a strategic partnership with Nvidia Corp to provide emerging AI firms with more cost-effective access to computing power.

The deal will deliver 170,000 graphics processing units from the first quarter of 2027 to the start of 2028, with Firmus expecting to earn up to $30 billion in revenue.

The US jobs market will be the focus on Thursday, but European inflation will also be closely watched.

The building approvals series is always volatile, with the consensus pick for a fairly flat result in May, but the overall trend is nudging higher.

Australia's trade surplus has been narrowing, with Thursday's release of May data expected to show a $1 billion to $2 billion surplus.

Oil prices continued to sink, which provides some hope for inflation easing back to the Fed's preferred level.

Brent crude futures settled at $US71.99 a barrel, down 4.3%, while the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate finished at $US69.23 a barrel, down 3.7%.

The US dollar paused its recent gains on Friday, giving a bit of respite to gold and Bitcoin, but both lost ground over the week.

The Aussie dollar continued to retreat, while copper edged up on Friday but was down almost 2% for the week.

Iron ore rose marginally, making its first weekly gain in seven weeks as traders covered short positions amid resilient demand in top consumer China.

Good morning and welcome to another day on the ABC markets and finance blog, with Stephen Letts from the ABC business team.

The ASX 200 futures were pointing to a 0.2% gain, which would be a handy start after the market shed 0.7% last week.

Whether that marginally positive sentiment holds will be answered in a couple of hours, with the corporate and macro calendars looking a bit empty today.

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