Australia: Shares flat as gold stocks offset gains in miners, banks

[BENGALURU] Australian shares were subdued on Monday as losses in gold miners and technology stocks were offset by gains in banks and miners that rose after iron ore prices firmed.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.13 per cent at 7,052.20 by 0105 GMT, after having gained as much as 0.2 per cent.

Weighing on the sentiment was a three-day snap lockdown announced on Friday in Western Australia's capital Perth after two people tested positive for Covid-19.

The top percentage gainers on the benchmark index were NIB Holdings, up more than 13 per cent, followed by Perpetual that gained 5.5 per cent. Top losers were JB Hi-Fi and Silver Lake Resources, down 3 per cent each.

Among other gainers, heavyweight miners rose 0.5 per cent to their highest since March 4 as iron ore prices traded near record highs on strong global steel demand.

Mining giants BHP Group and Rio Tinto rose about 1.4 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.

Banks rose 0.8 per cent to their highest since Feb 26, with Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and AMP Ltd gaining about 0.5 per cent each.

Westpac added a percent to mark its third straight session of rise, after saying it expects a A$288 million (S$296.5 million) net gain on its investment in cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global, offseting a hit to first-half cash earnings of A$282 million from provisions.

Gold stocks were the biggest percentage losers on the benchmark as bullion declined on strong US economic data. The gold index slipped more than 2 per cent.

De Grey Mining fell 7.5 per cent and Evolution Mining Ltd lost 2.7 per cent.

Technology stocks declined as much as 0.6 per cent, reversing course from a gain of 0.4 per cent early in the session. Xero Ltd and WiseTech Global slipped about 1 per cent each.

In other markets, Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.14 per cent, while S&P 500 E-minis futures slipped 0.13 per cent.

Markets in New Zealand were closed for a holiday.

REUTERS