Australian shares are poised to fall after much stronger-than-predicted retail sales in the US diminished the prospect of interest rate cuts. Gold gains as Israel’s military chief says it will strike back at Iran.

The S&P 500 wiped out an advance in a volatile session to fall more than 1 per cent by the close as interest rate sensitive megacaps Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple declined. Treasuries tumbled and gold jumped as the conflict in the Middle East entered a dangerous new phase, edging closer to last week’s record high.