{"id":65978,"date":"2026-08-05T00:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T04:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-rally-as-australian-equities-hit-record-highs-and-mideast-tensions-ease\/65978\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T00:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T04:08:10","slug":"global-markets-rally-as-australian-equities-hit-record-highs-and-mideast-tensions-ease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-rally-as-australian-equities-hit-record-highs-and-mideast-tensions-ease\/65978\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Markets Rally as Australian Equities Hit Record Highs and Mideast Tensions Ease"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The S&amp;P\/ASX 200 (<a href=\"\/stock\/XJO\">XJO<\/a>) reached a historic all-time high of 9,216.10 points<\/strong>, fueled by resilient domestic spending data and positive spillover from Wall Street.<\/li>\n<li><strong>President Donald Trump predicted a massive &quot;relief trade&quot; in energy markets<\/strong>, claiming U.S. gasoline prices could &quot;drop through the floor&quot; if the Strait of Hormuz reopens.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Japanese Yen surged to a three-month high near \u00a5155<\/strong> following a rare joint intervention by the U.S. Treasury and the Bank of Japan to stabilize the currency.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Global <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">oil prices<\/a> retreated over 5% to approximately $83 per barrel<\/strong> as diplomatic efforts led by Qatar and Oman signaled a potential breakthrough in the five-month U.S.-Iran conflict.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Australian share market hit a significant milestone on Wednesday, with the benchmark <strong>S&amp;P\/ASX 200 (<a href=\"\/stock\/XJO\">XJO<\/a>)<\/strong> surging to a record intraday high of <strong>9,216.10 points<\/strong>. This rally was underpinned by a 3.1% jump in mining giant BHP Group (<a href=\"\/stock\/BHP\">BHP<\/a>) and stronger-than-expected July services activity data. <em>Market sentiment remains bullish as investors look past interest rate concerns, encouraged by a robust U.S. earnings season where 86% of companies have exceeded expectations.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In the United States, President Donald Trump has intensified pressure on energy giants, asserting that gas prices should fall immediately as diplomatic &quot;perimeters&quot; for a deal with Iran take shape. Trump specifically criticized ExxonMobil (<a href=\"\/stock\/XOM\">XOM<\/a>) and Chevron (<a href=\"\/stock\/CVX\">CVX<\/a>) for record profits during the conflict, which has largely halted the flow of <strong>20% of the world&#39;s crude oil<\/strong> through the Strait of Hormuz. <em>The President suggested that a successful reopening of the waterway would see retail petrol prices return toward the $2.25 per gallon level.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Currency markets experienced a dramatic shift as the <strong>U.S. Dollar<\/strong> fell to a six-week low against a basket of currencies, primarily driven by a sharp recovery in the <strong>Japanese Yen<\/strong>. Following a period where the Yen touched 40-year lows beyond \u00a5163, a coordinated intervention by U.S. and Japanese regulators successfully pushed the pair back toward <strong>\u00a5157<\/strong>. <em>Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the joint action, noting that financial stability in Japan is critical to preventing a spike in U.S. Treasury yields.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The broader geopolitical landscape is showing signs of de-escalation, with U.S. officials eyeing a potential deal to restore maritime traffic &quot;today or tomorrow.&quot; While Tehran has officially denied direct talks with Washington, mediating partners in <strong>Qatar and Oman<\/strong> report that negotiations for a &quot;temporary&quot; transit route are in progressive stages. <em>This optimism has already triggered a 4% slide in Brent crude futures, providing much-needed relief to global inflationary pressures.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways The S&amp;P\/ASX 200 (XJO) reached a historic all-time high of 9,216.10 points, fueled by resilient domestic spending data [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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