Australia: Shares inch higher on oil, tech boost; New Zealand dips

[BENGALURU] Australian shares see-sawed between gains and losses on Monday, with a jump in energy stocks currently lifting the benchmark index, while heavyweight miners and gold companies fell ahead of a production-reporting week from top miners and energy firms.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was up about 0.12 per cent at 7,402.6 points by 2334 GMT, after slipping 1 per cent on Friday.

The energy sub-index led gains as oil prices remained robust on tight supply and worries of a Russian attack on neighbouring Ukraine.

The index rallied up to 1.4 per cent, touching its highest levels since October. Sector majors Woodside Petroleum and Santos firmed about 1.2 per cent each.

Offering support to the benchmark, tech stocks - tracking their Wall Street peers - were up 0.5 per cent, with software firm WiseTech Global gaining up to 2.5 per cent.

However, the mining sub-index weighed on markets, falling 0.2 per cent on weak iron ore prices.

Fortescue Metals slid 1.4 per cent, the most among Australia's big miners. Rio Tinto fell 0.8 per cent, while BHP Group was largely flat.

Investors now await quarterly production numbers from miners like Rio Tinto, BHP Group and oil majors like Woodside Petroleum during the week.

Separately, BHP said on Monday it would buy battery electric trains to deliver iron ore from its mines to ports in Western Australia, joining Rio Tinto and Fortescue that made similar purchases last week.

Gold stocks fell 0.8 per cent, pressured by lower gold prices. Evolution Mining was down about 1.5 per cent, while the sector heavyweight Newcrest Mining dropped 0.4 per cent.

Among other individual shares, Australian retail conglomerate Wesfarmers rose as much as 1.8 per cent even after it warned of a lower first-half net profit after tax due to coronavirus-induced restrictions.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell marginally by 0.05 per cent to 12,783.53 points, deepening its losses from Friday.

REUTERS