The Australian sharemarket exhibited mixed performance, as gains in energy stocks driven by rising oil prices due to escalating Middle East tensions were offset by a 1.3% decline in tech stocks, reflecting disappointing earnings reports from US tech giants, including a significant drop in Tesla's shares. Additionally, the materials sector faced a 0.5% decline, primarily attributed to a 1.5% drop in BHP's stock price following news of a Brazilian federal judge's ruling that the company should pay a substantial fine related to a 2015 tailings dam disaster, totaling 47.6 billion reals ($14.7 billion).
The S&P/ASX 200 is 0.06 per cent higher at 7,560.10.
The SPI futures are pointing to a fall of 14 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector is Energy, up 1.79 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Information Technology, down 1.62 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Infratil (ASX:IFT), trading 4.88 per cent higher at $10.11. It is followed by shares in Amcor plc (ASX:AMC) and GQG Partners (ASX:GQG).
The worst-performing large cap is IGO (ASX:IGO), trading 3.41 per cent lower at $7.215. It is followed by shares in WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) and Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC).
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2040.50 an ounce.
Iron ore is 0.3 per cent lower at US$136.15 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 1.06 per cent rise.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.76 US cents.
