Asia
Australian Shares Climb; Ampol Secures ACCC Nod for Proposed Acquisition of Fuel, Convenience Retailer
Australian shares rose on Wednesday even as hostilities flared in the Middle East, as hopes of a peace agreement being reached between the US and Iran waned.The S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 0.7%, or 61.30 points, to close at 8,785.70.The US said Iranian missile attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, and other regional targets were either thwarted or failed.Brent crude oil futures were trading above $97 per barrel.On the domestic front, Australia's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.3% in the March quarter on a seasonally adjusted, chain volume basis, after a 0.9% growth in the December 2025 quarter, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The GDP rose 2.5% compared with a year earlier.Australia's seasonally adjusted S&P Global Services purchasing managers' index (PMI) business activity index fell below the 50 no-change mark in May, posting 48.7 from 50.7 in April, according to a report by S&P Global.The Australian Industry Index remained weak in May, largely due to the energy crisis, with the index down 1 point to -26.5 in seasonally adjusted terms, according to a report released by the Australian Industry Group.In company news, Ampol's (ASX:ALD) proposed acquisition of fuel and convenience retailer EG Australia received approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The approval is conditional on the company giving an executed court-enforceable undertaking to the ACCC to divest 41 sites to Metro Petroleum.Superloop (ASX:SLC) upgraded its fiscal year 2026 guidance for underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization to AU$118 million to AU$122 million from a prior forecast of AU$112 million to AU$120 million.Lastly, Cygnus Metals (ASX:CY5) agreed to be acquired by Central Asia Metals in an all-scrip deal that values each Cygnus share at AU$0.176. Under a definitive scheme implementation deed, Cygnus shareholders will receive 0.06 new Central Asia Metals shares for each Cygnus share held.
ASX 200ASX:ALDASX:CY5ASX:SLC
