Australia: Shares end lower on financials and consumers; NZ recovers

[BENGALURU] Australian shares closed lower in a low-volume session on Monday, with financials and consumers stocks weighing the most.

The S&P/ASX 200 index swung between gains and losses throughout the session before settling 0.2 per cent lower at 5,952.3.

More than 571.9 million shares changed hands, compared with the 30-day average of 803.6 million shares.

Heavyweight financial stocks were among the biggest drags on the index, losing 0.6 per cent after a 3.7 per cent jump in the previous session.

All "Big Four" banks closed in negative territory, with top lenders Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking losing 1 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively.

"Banks are seeing profit-taking after a big move last week,"said Henry Jennings, a senior analyst and portfolio manager at Marcustoday Financial Newsletter.

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Among consumer firms, a2 Milk's Australian shares were the biggest losers, declining 10.7 per cent after the New Zealand-based dairy firm forecast lower first-half revenue on disruptions to Chinese sales.

"The moves are very stock specific and waiting for a catalyst with not a lot of conviction either way," Mr Jennings added.

Miners were the biggest drags, with global iron ore mining giants BHP Group and Rio Tinto declining 1.3 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the coronavirus hotspot Victoria state recorded a single-digit rise in new cases for the first time in three months and lifted some of its tough restrictions, raising hopes for a near-normal conditions by the year end.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index ended marginally higher at 11,802.29, recovering from a near 2 per cent drop earlier in the session.

Losses in a2 Milk shares were offset by gains in electricity generators Meridian Energy and Mercury NZ, which rose 6.6 per cent and 7.4 per cent respectively after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced negotiations with Rio Tinto to extend operations of its local aluminium smelters.

REUTERS