Staff writersUpdated June 2, 2026 — 11:34am,first published June 2, 2026 — 5:17amThe Australian sharemarket slumped in early trade as oil held its biggest gain in about a month, as uncertainty about the state of US-Iran peace talks raised fears that energy flows from the Persian Gulf will be disrupted for longer.Northern Star Resources shares soared after high-profile US hedge fund Elliott Investment Management said it has built a more than $1 billion stake in the gold miner and suggested it put itself up for sale after months of underperformance despite the gold rally.Elliott Management, led by billionaire Paul Singer, has bought more than a $1 billion worth of Northern Star shares and wants to overhaul the gold miner.CNBCThe S&P/ASX 200 was down 63.5 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 8665.80 as of 11.19am AEST, following a flat session on Monday. Banks and property trusts led the declines, with nine of the 11 industry sectors in the red. The Australian dollar was trading lower at US71.63¢.“Expectations for a US-Iran agreement remain fluid,” said Jason Pride and Michael Reynolds at Glenmede. “Recent strikes and conflicting statements from both sides highlight that key details remain unresolved.”The key financial sector, which makes up more than a third of the ASX, led losses in early trade. All big four banks were trading lower, with CBA down 1.3 per cent, Westpac down 2.4 per cent, National Australia bank down 1.3 per cent and ANZ Bank down 2.8 per cent. “Millionaires Factory” Macquarie fell 1.8 per cent.Real estate investment trusts were also lower as bond yields rose, making government bonds look more attractive. Warehouse and data centre operator Goodman Group fell 1.6 per cent, while shopping centre landlords Scentre and Vicinity were down 4.8 per cent and 4.2 per cent, respectively.Consumer-related stocks also struggled, with Kmart and Bunnings owner Wesfarmers down 2.1 per cent and electronics retailer losing 3.1 per cent, while supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles dropped 1.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent. The latest ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence report, published before the market opened, showed Australian consumer confidence rose 2.7 points last week, its highest level since March, but is still down 17.5 per cent on its 2025 average. “Recent momentum in consumer demand has been soft,” said ANZ economist Sophia Angala.Retailers were also affected by prospects of higher wage bills after the Fair Work Commission this morning lifted minimum and award wages by 4.75 per cent from July this year, giving millions of Australians a pay rise aimed at compensating them for price pressures over the past year.The fuel-price-sensitive airlines wobbled as well, with Qantas falling 2.5 per cent and Virgin Australia slumping 2.9 per cent. Flight Centre shares were down 1.5 per cent.However, the losses on the ASX were limited by a rally in tech stocks and gains in mining and energy shares.Miners were pushed higher by Northern Star’s 9.8 per cent rally following the disclosure by Elliott Management. The activist investor, led by billionaire Paul Singer, said that while Northern Star has “world-class” gold mining assets it has underperformed due to operational missteps, cost overruns and inconsistent strategic direction. The US hedge fund is urging the miner to conduct a strategic review, including options of a sale, while conducting an external search for a new CEO.“We believe there would be significant strategic interest in Northern Star,” Elliott said in a presentation. Stuart Tonkin, who has been CEO since 2016, will step down in the coming months, the company announced in May.Meanwhile, iron ore and copper heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto inched up 0.1 per cent and 0.2 per cent, while Northern Star’s rivals were softer as gold prices held their decline from Monday, trading near US$4490 an ounce. Evolution Mining dropped 2 per cent and Newmont slipped 0.7 per cent.Energy stocks were higher as oil prices stayed elevated after their surge on Monday. Oil and gas giant Woodside was up 1.3 per cent, and Santos added 0.5 per cent. Brent for August delivery traded near $US95 a barrel after adding 4.2 per cent in the previous session, while West Texas Intermediate was below $US92 a barrel. Prices surged Monday on a report that Tehran was halting talks with Washington in protest against Israel’s attacks in Lebanon, before paring gains after US President Donald Trump said the negotiations were continuing.The US leader said a memorandum of understanding with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could happen over the next week, according to a telephone conversation he had with ABC News. Washington still had “to get a few more points” before a deal, he said.Tech stocks were the biggest gainers in early trade, soaring after Big Tech stocks shot higher on Wall Street thanks to exuberance around artificial intelligence. Xero, the biggest tech stock in Australia, jumped 5.9 per cent, while fellow software makers WiseTech Global and Technology One surged 5.5 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively. Family tracking app Life360 rallied 8.6 per cent.Wall Street has kicked off its week with new records.APOn Wall Street overnight, the S&P 500 added 0.3 per cent to its prior all-time high. The Dow Jones rose 0.1 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.4 per cent, both also adding to their previous records set last week as strong profit reports from US companies and continued strength for big technology stocks kept momentum going.Artificial intelligence company Anthropic is moving toward going public on Wall Street, the latest chapter in its meteoric rise from a little-known research laboratory to one of the leading AI companies valued at $US965 billion ($1.4 trillion).Anthropic said it has submitted a confidential filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock.“This gives us the option to go public after the SEC completes its review,” Anthropic said in a brief statement. “The proposed initial public offering will depend on market conditions and other factors.”Overnight, the state of Florida announced it was suing Anthropic’s rival OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, claiming the company concealed serious risks of ChatGPT.The lawsuit filed in Florida circuit court references two separate shootings where the alleged gunmen were reported to have asked ChatGPT questions while planning their crimes.On Wall Street, the majority of US stocks fell, and some of the worst performers were companies with big fuel bills hurt by the rise in oil prices. United Airlines lost 3.3 per cent, and Alaska Air Group fell 2.6 per cent.Nvidia was the strongest force lifting the market and rose 6.3 per cent after CEO Jensen Huang announced several product updates at a conference. What Nvidia does matters immensely for the US stock market because it’s the biggest in terms of overall market value. That means the movements for its stock carry more weight on the S&P 500 than any other’s.Elsewhere on Wall Street, Science Applications International jumped 10.2 per cent after becoming the latest US company to report bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. A cavalcade of such profit reports has helped the US stock market push to records despite the uncertainty created by the war with Iran.MGM Resorts International leaped 16.1 per cent after People, Barry Diller’s business that was formerly known as IAC, offered to buy the rest of the company it doesn’t already own for $US48.30 per share in cash.In the bond market, Treasury yields rose with oil prices and after a report said growth in US manufacturing accelerated by more last month than economists expected. The yield for the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.48 per cent from 4.45 per cent late Friday.with AP, BloombergThe Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.More:World marketsSharesWall StreetNorthern Star ResourcesFrom our partners