Company Interview / the COB: Thursday tumble

A rally in crude oil prices sent investors pressing the sell button again today, with around $50 billion wiped from the S&P/ASX 200. The Index closed lower by 1.3% to 8,629 points.

 Oil jumped back above US$100 a barrel; with the conflict's severe impact on oil supplies prompting the Trump administration to release 172 million barrels from the US strategic reserve. 

 The move meant oil stocks were one of the few bright spots, along with coal miners which tracked commodity prices higher. The energy sector rose 2.1%. 

 Tech stocks slid however, mirroring losses on Wall Street. The NASDAQ-listed and Aussie-led management software company Atlassian cut a tenth of its workforce as AI upends the business. Our IT sector fell 3.5%.

 Gold prices edged lower, weighed down by looming inflation concerns that bolstered expectations of higher interest rates. Newmont shed 2.6%. Liontown Resources eased 0.9% after posting a 1H loss, despite doubling its revenue. 

 Meanwhile KFC-operator Collins Foods announced plans to expand in Germany, sending its shares higher by 5.5%. 

 In the defence sector, IperionX dropped by 14% after it saw its net loss for the half year widen.

Tomorrow, WiseTech, Guzman y Gomez and the Car Group are among companies trading without rights to their dividends.