Australian shares rose on Tuesday's close as investor sentiment was buoyed by optimism around a peace deal between the US and Iran, even as the US naval blockade of Iran took effect.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.5% or 44.80 points to close at 8,970.80, reaching a new 20-day high.
US President Donald Trump said Iran had called the White House over a potential peace agreement.
Both countries had left room for further negotiations, and there was forward motion on trying to get to an agreement, Reuters reported, citing sources.
Brent crude oil futures declined 1.5% to $97.90 per barrel.
On the domestic front, the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index fell sharply around 13% to 80.1 in April from 91.6 in March, as rising fuel prices and interest rates added to cost-of-living pressures and weighed heavily on economic sentiment.
Business confidence in Australia fell 29 points to negative 29 in March, its lowest level since April 2020 and one of the sharpest declines since the global financial crisis and COVID-19, following the Middle East conflict, National Australia Bank said in a report.
Australia's consumer confidence lifted 2.2 points in the April 6 to April 12 week to 64.5 points, recording its second consecutive weekly rise, while the four-week moving average fell 1 point to 62.2 points, ANZ said in a report.
In company news, Qantas Airways (ASX:QAN) now expects fuel cost for the fiscal second half to be AU$3.1 billion to AU$3.3 billion, as February jet refining margins peaked at about $120 per barrel. The airline said it has hedged about 90% of its fiscal H2 crude oil exposure but remains largely exposed to movements in jet refining margins.
Cleanaway Waste Management (ASX:CWY) now expects fiscal 2026 earnings before interest and taxes of AU$460 million to AU$480 million, down from a previous range of AU$480 million to AU$500 million, due to the impact of the Middle East conflict. Its shares declined 2% at close.
Lastly, Clarity Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CU6) signed a commercial manufacturing agreement for its copper-64 SAR-bisPSMA next-generation diagnostic imaging agent with Nucleus Radiopharma. The agreement includes manufacturing at Nucleus Radiopharma's facility in Rochester, Minnesota. Clarity's shares closed down 5%.