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Australian Shares Flat; Strike Selects Western Australia Facility as Preferred Processing Solution for Joint Venture Gas Share

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Australian shares were flat with a negative bias on Monday as investors reacted to renewed attacks between the US and Iran in the Middle East.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index was little changed to close at 9,076.

Brent crude oil futures ​rose to reach over $90 per barrel after the US military struck rocket launchers in Iran and Iran retaliated with strikes.

US Federal Reserve Chairman Warsh vowed to return inflation to the 2% target in a speech over the weekend, which lifted the probability ​of a September rate hike.

On the domestic front, Australia's seasonally adjusted company gross operating profits rose 1.8% quarter-on-quarter and 7.4% year-on-year in the June quarter, according to a report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Australia's total credit rose 0.6% month-over-month in July, following a 0.8% increase in June, data from the Reserve Bank of Australia showed.

The Melbourne Institute monthly inflation gauge rose for a second consecutive month in August, driven primarily by higher transport prices after declining in May and June. Annual headline inflation, as measured by the inflation gauge, stood at 4.8%.

In company news, Strike Energy (ASX:STX) selected Hancock Energy's proposed Belisama gas processing facility in Western Australia as the preferred processing pathway for its share of gas from the West Erregulla joint venture.

Austal (ASX:ASB) logged AU$0.127 in loss per share for fiscal 2026, compared with a profit of AU$0.233 a year ago. For the 12 months ended June 30, revenue was AU$2.03 billion versus AU$1.82 billion previously.

Liontown (ASX:LTR) logged AU$0.031 in earnings per share for fiscal 2026, compared with a loss of AU$0.08 a year ago. For the 12 months ended June 30, revenue was AU$639.1 million versus AU$297.6 million previously.

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