Australian shares rise as tech rallies and energy stocks slide

Market snapshot: ASX 200 opens higher across most sectors

The S&P/ASX 200, Australia's float-adjusted, market-capitalisation-weighted benchmark of the 200 largest eligible stocks on the ASX, climbed approximately 75 points on Monday morning, adding around 0.86% to sit near 8,847.verifiedVerified Source: en.wikipedia.org^[1] Eight of eleven sectors moved higher, pointing to broad-based buying rather than a narrow rally.

The session split sharply between growth and commodity-linked stocks. Technology surged while energy lagged, a divide that tracked closely the movements in global crude markets on Friday night.

Tech leads the session: Xero, WiseTech, NextDC and Life360

Technology was the session's standout sector, rising roughly 4.3% and accounting for the bulk of the index gain. Xero led the charge, up approximately 7.4%, while WiseTech Global added around 6% and Life360 climbed about 5%.

NextDC, the data-centre operator, rose roughly 3.4%. The moves tracked a global shift in investor sentiment toward software and cloud-infrastructure names, with strong earnings forecasts and persistent demand for digital services driving the buying.

Oil pullback: WTI and Brent weigh on Santos and Woodside

Crude prices retreated sharply on Friday, removing a key support for Australian energy producers. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported the weekly average spot price for WTI crude at US$84.38 per barrel and for Brent crude at US$86.99 per barrel for the week ending 20 July 2026verifiedVerified Source: eia.gov.^[2] The EIA defines its weekly crude prices as the unweighted average of daily closing spot prices over the specified period.^[2]

Santos and Woodside both tracked oil lower in Monday trade. Easing supply concerns and profit-taking ahead of key central bank meetings were cited as the primary drivers of the crude slide, creating the tech-versus-energy split that defined the morning session.

Stock movers: EOS upgrades guidance, Lotus Resources falls on offer

Electro Optic Systems Holdings (ASX:EOS) was among the session's more closely watched names after its board upgraded full-year revenue guidance. The company said "EOS expects 2026 full year revenue to be in the range $240m to $270m," in a statement released on 15 June 2026.^[3] That guidance covers the base business only, excluding the MARSS division.^[3]

The EOS board pointed to geopolitics as the demand driver, saying ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Europe have kept enquiry levels for EOS products at elevated levels.^[3] The upgrade followed what the company reported as a 284% jump in first-half revenue.

Lotus Resources moved in the opposite direction. Lotus Resources Limited completed an approximately A$120 million accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer, with the announcement made on 24 July 2026verifiedVerified Source: asx.com.au.^[4] The discounted pricing typical of entitlement offers weighed on its share price during the session.

What to watch: the tech-energy split and oil's next move

The gap between technology and energy on Monday is the clearest near-term signal of where money is moving on the ASX. Growth-oriented sectors are attracting flows on the back of strong earnings forecasts, while commodity-linked names remain tied to oil's direction heading into central bank decisions.

Investors will be watching whether WTI and Brent stabilise above US$84 per barrel, a level that shapes the earnings outlook for Santos and Woodside in the second half of 2026. Lotus Resources' entitlement offer, completed at a discount and announced on 24 July 2026, closes out the week's corporate activity on the ASX.^[4]