SYDNEY, March 19 (Xinhua) -- The Australian share market opened down 1.7 percent on Thursday as oil prices surged towards 110 U.S. dollars a barrel.

The S&P/ASX 200, the benchmark index of the top 200 stocks listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), fell 1.7 percent at the open of trading at 10 a.m. Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) on Thursday (2300 GMT on Wednesday) to 8,496 points from 8,640 points at the close on Wednesday.

The fall was in line with market expectations after oil prices surged in response to a threat from Iran to attack energy infrastructure across the Gulf region in retaliation for Israeli strikes on the South Pars gasfield.

The ASX 200 had recovered some of its early losses by 10:20 a.m. AEDT, but was still down 1.6 percent from Wednesday's close at 8,502 points.

The share price for Woodside Energy was up 2.7 percent in early trading, while Santos was up 2.5 percent. ■