ASX Falls on Oil Shock

The ASX 200 fell 2.9% this week, capping a fourth straight losing session as oil surged to $US108 a barrel, its highest level in almost four months, with Iran and the US digging into a conflict that's choked off normal Middle East energy flows through tanker strikes, missile attacks on US bases and threats to Saudi energy facilities. The oil spike dragged global bond yields sharply higher and lifted the odds of another US Federal Reserve rate rise.

The week’s best performers 

Ingenia Communities (ASX:INA) +8.77%

Ingenia Communities, the land lease communities and holiday parks operator, rallied this week on a run of corporate news. The board rejected a $4.75-a-security takeover approach which undervalued the group, signalling to investors that management thought it was worth more. On top of that, Ingenia unveiled a proposed scrip-and-cash merger with Peet worth up to $2.12 a share, plus $124m of NSW asset sales at book value to fund the development pipeline.

Minerals 260 (ASX:MI6) +7.98%

The West Australian gold developer, Minerals 260, rose 7.98% this week after regulators granted an expanded mining lease covering the entire Bullabulling Gold Project area defined in its pre-feasibility study, removing a key permitting hurdle ahead of the planned final investment decision.  The company also struck a binding deal to buy roughly 367km² of adjoining tenure from Kalgoorlie Mining Associates for $250k cash and $1m in shares, growing its total project footprint to 1,527km², more than ten times the 130km² it started with when it picked up the project in April 2025. That decision is still targeted for Q1 2027, with first production pencilled in for 2028. 

Karoon Energy (ASX:KAR) +5.48%

Karoon Energy, the ASX-listed oil and gas producer, climbed 5.48% this week as Brent crude surged 12.3% to $US108.17 a barrel, its biggest weekly jump since mid-July, after Houthi rebels seized the Red Sea port town of Mocha, threatening the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb that Saudi Arabia has been using to route oil around the blocked Strait of Hormuz. The whole ASX energy sector caught a bid, with Woodside up 3.36% and Santos up 5.05%, but it's a double-edged sword for Australia, since the same oil spike is what's feeding fears of another RBA rate rise.

This week's worst performers

Nine Entertainment (ASX:NEC) -15.85%

The free-to-air broadcaster and the owner of Stan, Nine Entertainment, fell despite extending its Premier League rights to 2033-34 at a below-inflation 3% annual escalator. The market read it as a bigger cost commitment than a coup, with Nine's promised savings (the roll-off of legacy Optus payments and a repricing of inherited subscribers) still unproven and carrying real churn risk. Stan's underlying earnings have doubled to $81m in five years, but investors are cautious that growth can't keep up with rising costs. 

Xero (ASX:XRO) -15.52%

Xero, the cloud accounting software provider, fell 13.33% this week, dropping below $70 for the first time in years after a seventh straight red session. FY26 revenue grew about 31% to NZ$2.8bn, but net profit dropped 27% as Melio integration costs pushed the company into net debt, with US profitability now pushed out to late FY28. Rising rates aren't helping either, hitting growth stocks whose value sits mostly in distant profits. WiseTech also fell 13.27% this week after cutting FY27 guidance, a rough week for ASX software broadly. 

Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL) -14.76%

Deep Yellow, the uranium developer, fell 14.76% this week in what looks like a broader ASX uranium sell-off rather than anything company-specific. Paladin Energy dropped 9.5% after brokers cut production forecasts for its Namibian mine and flagged its Canadian project may need a fresh capital raise, while Boss Energy fell 6.49% on FY27 guidance showing production costs almost 50% higher than this year. Deep Yellow is inherently sensitive to uranium-price sentiment given it's not yet generating revenue.