Market Wrap / March madness

The ramifications of the Middle East conflict continued to impact the Australian share market this Friday. The S&P/ASX200 closed down 0.82% at 8,428.40 points, posting its third consecutive weekly loss to be down 8% since the conflict began.

Rising oil prices and their inflationary effects are prompting investors to dial back on risk with Brent crude closed the week at US $107 a barrel. 

Reaccelerating inflation and hawkish central bank forecasts has pushed gold to its biggest weekly drop since in six years with Northern Star and Newmont sliding further. 

Travel stocks felt the burden of increased uncertainty in jet fuel with Webjet Group and Air New Zealand sliding 5.2% and 5.5% respectively. 

Elsewhere in the sector, Flight Centre bought UK based meetings and events agency Fresh Approach, which is expected to generate $34 million dollars in revenue for 2026, but the share price slid 0.6%. 

Healthcare found its footing after yesterday’s selloff, rising 1.1% as investors rotated into more defensive corners of the market. Heavyweight CSL finished the day up 2.9%.

Telstra appointed Holly Kramer as non-executive director following Elana Rubin’s retirement from the board. The share price climbed 0.2% in line with broader telco and tech momentum. 

Tonight, markets will be monitoring Middle East developments, while Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak over the weekend.