Australian share market edges higher on oil, gold price spike

Following the shock incursion by Hamas into Israel, the ASX edged higher on Monday buoyed by surging energy and gold stocks.

The Australian share market edged higher on Monday buoyed by a jump in energy and gold stocks amid a rally in global crude oil prices following an unprecedented offensive by Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

The S & P/ASX200 rose 0.2 per cent, or 16 points, to sit at 6,970.2 at the closing bell. The All Ordinaries similarly rose 0.2 per cent, or 14 points, to 7,157.

Five of 11 sectors finished in the green across the benchmark with energy stocks the best performer, up 3 per cent, as oil prices surged as much as 5.4 per cent in Asian markets.

The Brent Crude contract is currently trading near $US89 a barrel and the US Nymex/WTI contract is nearing $US87 a barrel.

Global crude oil prices surged as much as 5.4 per cent in Asian markets. Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP

Sector heavyweight Woodside Energy climbed 3.1 per to $35.24 a share, while Santos jumped 4.2 per cent to $7.66. Beach Energy also finished higher, up 3.3 per cent to $1.55.

Gold stocks also rose as traders pushed the commodity price higher as they piled into the safe haven asset, pushing price 1 per cent higher to $US1851.65 an ounce.

Capricorn Metals soared 5.4 per cent to $4.33 Regis rose 5 per cent to $1.59, and Newcrest surged 4.7 per cent to $25.42.

In company news, Qantas shares sank lower after a Senate probe into bilateral air services agreements made a swag of recommendations including the reinstatement of ACCC airfare monitoring and greater consumer protections against flight delays, cancellations, lost baggage and devaluation of loyalty programs.

A new Senate inquiry report into Australia’s bilateral air services agreements presents another headache for freshly minted Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

At the closing bell, shares in the embattled airline were down 3.8 per cent to sit at $4.84, it’s lowest since August 25 last year.

Investment management firm Magellan Financial sank a further 7.2 per cent on Monday to $6.66 a share. It follows a significant loss on Friday when it announced a $4bn drop in funds under management as at September end.

Myer Holdings shares dropped 3.9 on news that its chairwoman Joanne Stephen had decided to retire at the upcoming 2023 annual general meeting. The company’s board has unanimously appointed current Myer non-executive director, Ari Mervis as the new chair.