A long-awaited reprieve arrived today, with the local market snapping a three-session losing streak after President Trump postponed strikes on Iranian energy assets. While the index surged early on, gains faded to 0.4% by the close as skepticism grew over conflicting reports of peace talks. Despite the bounce, the market remains down nearly 9% this month after briefly entering correction territory yesterday. Miners provided the heavy lifting with a 3% jump, offsetting a weak Financials sector. Energy stocks proved resilient; after an initial slump, the sector recovered as Brent crude climbed back above $103 a barrel. Meanwhile, Myer shares retreated after a 17% profit drop overshadowed record Black Friday sales. All eyes now shift to tomorrow's crucial February inflation data.

Steve Daghlian and Laura Besarati are Market Analysts at CommSec. Each episode, they break down the day's market movements and explain what the numbers really mean.

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