Australian shares fell on Friday after Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear program sites in a major escalation of tensions in the Middle East.

The S&P/ASX 200 opened higher before falling 17.7 points, or 0.2 per cent, to close at 8547.4, with eight out of 11 sectors declining.

AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said he expected US President Donald Trump to pivot away from tariffs to more market friendly policies which, along with rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of Australia, could lift shares later this year.

“Tensions regularly flare up in the Middle East, escalate for a while, and then settle back down again, so there is a danger in getting too negative,” Oliver said on Friday. “The key for investors is to look for the opportunities that the latest conflict may throw up.”

The Australian bourse took a solid lead from Wall Street where equities closed higher in a broad advance, with utilities pacing eight of the S&P 500’s 11 industry sectors higher. Boeing slid 4.8 per cent, recovering from an opening drop after one of its aircrafts crashed in India.

On the ASX, energy stocks rallied as Brent prices surged as much as 13 per cent to above $US78 a barrel after Israel carried out waves of military strikes against Iran. Woodside Energy rose 7.4 per cent to $25.2, while Santos climbed 3.7 per cent to $6.9.

Gold prices also jumped as investors fled to safe haven assets, with the precious metal trading just $US60 below its record of $US3500 an ounce. Mining stocks also advanced, with Newmont up 5.8 per cent to $88.1, Genesis climbing 2.1 per cent to $4.9, and Evolution gaining 5.5 per cent to $9.2.

The major banks were trading lower, with Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank dropping 0.7 per cent to $179.4 and 0.3 per cent $38.9, respectively.

Stocks in focus

In corporate news, online luxury retailer Cettire extended its decline, dropping another 20.3 per cent to 26¢ on Friday after tanking 31.2 per cent on Thursday on the back of its second profit downgrade in less than two months.

Footwear retailer Accent, which owns the Hype and Platypus chains and fashion outlet Glue Store, plunged 24.7 per cent to $1.4 after warning that sales have flagged post-Christmas.

Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure fell 6.2 per cent to $3.8 after North American giant Brookfield Infrastructure confirmed reports in The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column that it has divested 23.2 per cent of its stake in the Queensland coal port.