Australia shares rebound as US delays Iran strikes, revives peace deal hopes

May 19 (Reuters) – Australian shares bounced back from a more-than-one-month low on Tuesday, as news that the U.S. had delayed a strike on Iran relieved traders, who were also awaiting the central bank’s May policy meeting minutes.

The S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 1% to 8,594 as of 0031 GMT, its largest single-day gain since May 6. The benchmark shed 1.5% on Monday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said that there was a “very good chance” that an agreement could be reached with Iran to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon. It came hours after he said he had postponed a planned military attack to allow negotiations to continue.

Crude prices shed over 2% on the day, while investors remained wary of energy-driven inflationary pressures and expectations of interest rate hikes. [O/R]

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s meeting minutes, due later in the day, will provide insights into how the board is gauging inflation and growth risks linked to the Middle East conflict.

With three hikes so far this year, swaps imply a 21% probability that the RBA will raise its key cash rate at its next policy meeting in June. [0#AUDIRPR]

Financials rose 1.4%, with all “Big Four” banks advancing between 0.5% and 1.1%.

Rate-sensitive consumer discretionary and real estate stocks gained 1.5% and 2%, respectively.

Energy stocks defied the decline in oil prices to rise 0.6%. Woodside Energy and Santos gained 0.3%, each.

Gold miners rose 0.9% as bullion prices benefited from a weaker U.S. dollar. Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining gained 0.4% and 0.8%, respectively. [GOL/]

The broader resources sub-index was the sole sector trading in the red, tracking weakness in base metal prices. BHP and Rio Tinto fell 0.1% and 0.5%, respectively. [IRONORE/] [MET/L]

New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index gained 1.2% to 12,920.06, on pace for its strongest trade since early April.

(Reporting by Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)