Updated Jun 29, 2026 – 7.38am, first published at 7.33amKey Posts1 min ago — 7.38AMGood morning5 mins ago — 7.34AMMorgan Stanley, Goldman Shares Fall on Possible OpenAI IPO Delay5 mins ago — 7.34AMBefore the Bell: ASX to rise as EOFY reset outweighs Middle East fearsGo to latestPinned post – 7.34AMBefore the Bell: ASX to rise as EOFY reset outweighs Middle East fearsGrace LaganTraders are hopeful that the start of a new financial year this week will spur gains across the Australian sharemarket, even as reigniting tensions in the Middle East and volatility among Wall Street’s big tech players are threatening to send fresh jitters through the exchange.Futures point to the S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.2 per cent at the opening bell on Monday, building on gains late last week. But two days of US strikes on Iran in retaliation to an apparent strike on a container ship travelling through the Strait of Hormuz has jeopardised the two-week-old ceasefire agreement and stoked fears for a resurgent energy supply crunch.Local traders are also keeping a close eye on slides on Wall Street. The S&P 500 ended last week down 2 per cent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 4.5 per cent as scrutiny built over whether artificial intelligence-focused companies would generate sufficient returns to justify their mammoth capital expenditure on the technology.But Emanuel Datt, chief investment officer at Datt Capital, said the geopolitical situation was more front of mind.“All eyes will be on the Middle East, and probably more focused towards the tangible instead of the AI theme,” he said, but added his team was “fairly positive” on the outlook for the local exchange and from the end of this week.That’s because a new financial year begins on Wednesday, bringing with it the close of ASX’s regular season of tax-loss selling, where investors dump poorly performing stocks to offset capital gains on other investments.“We always notice significant strength in the market from July going through to probably August and September,” said Datt. “A lot of that is people – whether they’re professional investors or retail investors – like to clear their decks in preparation for the new financial year.”But while a new financial year might be around the corner, old economic problems persist. Minutes from the Reserve Bank board’s June monetary policy meeting set to be released this week will be pored over by traders trying to gauge the bank’s view of the current economic conditions, and whether more interest rate rises are needed to tame resurgent inflation.Read more here.Market highlightsASX 200 futures are pointing up to a 16-point, or 0.2 per cent, jump to 8774.AUD at US68.9¢Bitcoin +0.31 per cent to $US60,120On Wall St: Dow -0.1% S&P -0.05% Nasdaq -0.2%VIX -2.5 per cent to 18.41Gold +1.2 per cent $US4,032 per troy ounceBrent Crude Oil +1.1 per cent to $US73 a barrelIron ore -0.04 per cent to $US100 per tonne10-year-yield US 4.371 per cent Australia 4.727 per centFetching latest articles