Australian shares were flat with a negative bias on Friday's close as the US delayed its deadline to strike Iranian power plants.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index was little changed to close at 8,516.30.
US President Donald Trump decided to delay a deadline on striking Iran's energy assets by 10 days. Iran dismissed a US proposal to end the conflict as unfair. Brent crude oil futures fell 1% to $107.07 per barrel. Concern over high interest rates and inflation in the wake of the conflict in the Middle East weighed on the price of gold.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq fell 2.4%, while both the S&P 500 fell 1.7% and the Dow Jones index fell 1%.
Asia-Pacific's growth and financing environment will face hurdles despite a solid start in 2026, given the heightened Middle East conflict, U.S. trade policy volatility, and AI disruptions, S&P Global Ratings said.
The region faces "fat" tail risks due to these external risk factors, with the likelihood of escalated market volatility and risk-off sentiments increasing amid constantly shifting information flow on the conflict.
In domestic news, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said retail petrol and diesel prices continued to climb in the week to March 25, but diesel price increases at both the wholesale and retail levels outpaced petrol prices.
In company news, Xero (ASX:XRO) entered a multi-year artificial intelligence partnership with Anthropic. Customers will be able to use their Xero financial data and insights in Claude.ai, while also being able to orchestrate financial tasks from start to finish across accounting, payroll, and payments using Claude-powered automation.
BlueScope Steel (ASX:BSL) said over 60% of its 1,200-hectare surplus land portfolio has been zoned for development, with initiatives including leases and sales.
Lastly, Suncorp Group (ASX:SUN) said that Chief Executive Steve Johnston will step away from his duties temporarily to recover from a medical procedure. Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Robson will serve as acting CEO during this period.