Australian shares have closed slightly higher as investors fret about deepening tensions between Russia and Ukraine, but Crown shares have jumped after it accepted a private equity takeover offer.
The ASX 200 was up 0.4 per cent, to 7,244, having traded flat for most of the morning.
Gold miners dominated the biggest gains. Regis Resources was up 8.2 per cent, Evolution Mining up 7.9 per cent and Northern Star 5.9 per cent higher.
The benchmark was also aided by a jump in shares of Beach Energy (+9.4pc) after the oil and gas explorer said its half-year profit surged 66 per cent on the back of firmer oil prices.
Energy stocks were up more than 3 per cent, tracking an uptick in oil prices as escalating fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, a top energy producer, added to concerns over tight global crude supplies.
Woodside Petroleum and Santos rose 3.6 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively.
The other notable gain among the top 200 firms was JB Hi-Fi, which rose 5.4 per cent, to $51.71, after announcing a $250 million share buyback to return money to investors.
Its share price gain came despite the electronics retailer announcing a previously flagged 9.4 per cent fall in half-year profit, to $288 million.
Despite the fall in profit from the pandemic peak last year, earnings were still around 69 per cent higher than before COVID-19, as people continued to spend on home offices and entertainment.
On the downside, Novonix (-10.8pc), Liontown Resources (-7.9pc) and Imugene (-9.5pc) were the biggest losers.
The Australian dollar was down, to 71.19 US cents, by 04:22am AEDT.
Oil prices hit their highest in more than seven years as supply concerns stoked fears of a possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia, adding to concerns over tight global crude supplies.
Brent crude oil was up, trading at $US95.64 a barrel, by 04:24am AEDT.
Crown accepts Blackstone bid
The big local news on the market was the Crown board's acceptance of Blackstone's latest $8.9 billion takeover bid for the Australian casino giant.
The US private equity firm is offering $13.10 cash per Crown share, which is around 11 per cent higher than its initial approach for the company last year.
It is also nearly a third higher than Crown's share price of $9.90 in mid-November, the day before it received an acquisition proposal from Blackstone pitched at $12.50 a share.
Crown Resorts chief executive Steve McCann described it as a "compelling offer".
"The agreement with Blackstone also highlights the strength of the Crown brand and confidence in our future as we emerge from some challenging times, which is welcome news for our people, customers and stakeholders," he said in a statement.
The deal will still need to be cleared by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and by the gaming regulatory authorities in the states where Crown operates.
It will also be subject to no new gaming regulatory actions being taken against Crown, and to shareholder approval.
James Packer's Consolidated Press Holdings holds almost 37 per cent of Crown Resorts shares.
Ukraine-Russia situation roil markets
Global shares had dropped on Friday on rising worries over escalating Ukraine-Russia tensions and the prospect of a tightened interest rate hike timeline from the US Federal Reserve in response to decades-high inflation.
Benchmark Treasury yields lost ground, and German bond yields backed off the 2018 highs struck on Thursday. Gold and oil prices rose.
Losses deepened in volatile trading on Wall Street after Washington said Russia had massed enough troops near Ukraine to launch a major invasion, and urged US citizens to leave the country within 48 hours after Moscow stiffened its response to Western diplomacy.
Rising oil prices boosted energy shares more than 2.8 per cent , though most of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes declined, led by technology and consumer discretionary.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 503.53 points, or 1.43 per cent, at 34,738.06. The S&P 500 lost 85.44 points, or 1.90 per cent, to 4,418.64. And the Nasdaq Composite dropped 394.49 points, or 2.78 per cent, to 13,791.15.
"By pushing energy prices even higher, a Russian invasion would likely exacerbate inflation and redouble pressure on the Fed to raise interest rates," said Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.6 per cent lower, but added 1.6 per cent this week, its best performance since late-December.
The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 nations, fell 10.85 points, or 1.49 per cent, to 715.46. Emerging markets stocks fell 0.85 per cent.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.73 per cent lower, while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.42 per cent.
ABC/Reuters
