ASX Preview: Australian Shares Set to Open Lower as US Announces Iran Blockade; Monash IVF Receives Revised Takeover Proposal
Australian shares are set to open lower on Monday after US President Donald Trump said that the US would begin a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz after peace talks between Iran and the US ended without a resolution to the conflict, sending oil prices higher.A report from The Wall Street Journal said that Trump and his advisers were considering limited strikes on Iran. Brent crude oil futures soared nearly 8% to a four-week high of $US102.80 per barrel early on Monday. Gold fell almost 2%.In corporate news, Monash IVF Group (ASX:MVF) received a revised, unsolicited, conditional, and non-binding indicative proposal from a consortium comprising Genesis Capital Investment Management and WHSP Holdings (ASX:SOL) to acquire 100% of the shares in Monash IVF via a scheme of arrangement at $0.90 per share.Pro Medicus' (ASX: PME) wholly-owned US unit, Visage Imaging, signed a AU$37 million, five-year contract renewal with Northwestern Medicine.Australia's benchmark index closed just 0.1% lower, or 12.6 points, at 8,960.60 on April 10.