CORRECTION (2026-07-12): An earlier version of this article included a key point that Morgan Stanley/Goldman shares fell on a reported OpenAI IPO delay. That material has been removed and adjacent wording lightly adjusted for readability; the substance of the article is otherwise unchanged. Corrected on 2026-07-12.
Australian equity futures are pointing to a positive open on Thursday, with the S&P/ASX 200 expected to rise by approximately 0.2% as the market enters the final week of the financial year.
The incident has kept shipping routes exposed and added a risk premium to crude prices, though the immediate impact on Australian equities appears muted by domestic seasonal flows.
Traders are betting that the seasonal influx of liquidity from end-of-financial-year (EOFY) tax-loss selling and portfolio rebalancing will outweigh lingering geopolitical anxieties.
The optimistic sentiment comes despite renewed volatility in energy markets.
Oil traders are bracing for further disruption after a container ship was reportedly hit in the Strait of Hormuz, raising fears of additional US military strikes in the region.
The incident has kept shipping routes exposed and added a risk premium to crude prices, though the immediate impact on Australian equities appears muted by domestic seasonal flows.
In the US, investor attention is also fixed on technology stocks.