Australia’s sharemarket clawed back an early slump on Monday to finish slightly higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 adding 8.9 points to close at 9029.7. The broader All Ordinaries rose 0.2 per cent to 9163.4.
Mining and energy names provided most of the market’s upward momentum, offsetting a widespread slide in financial stocks that left seven of 11 sectors in the red by the close.
The big four banks undercut the market’s advance. ANZ shares fell 3.2 per cent despite the bank reporting a 31 per cent jump in cash profit to $7.6 billion for the year to September, boosted by lower bad debts and tighter cost control.
"significant items"
ANZ said the previous year’s result had been affected by charges from a cost-cutting program and that, excluding those "significant items", cash profit rose 10 per cent.
Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank also ended the day lower. NAB confirmed that its next chair will be Ian Saines, a former CBA banker and ex-Macquarie director, who will replace outgoing chair Phil Chronican.
Miners outperformed across the board as bullion and base metals strengthened. BHP climbed 2.74 per cent, Rio Tinto rose 1.55 per cent and Fortescue added 0.66 per cent. Gold producers made stronger gains, with Evolution Mining up 4.8 per cent and Northern Star rising 0.78 per cent.
Oil prices slipped in early Asian trade, with Brent crude down 0.6 per cent to US$97.72. Energy stocks were mixed: Woodside Energy edged lower by the close, Santos recorded a modest gain and Ampol finished slightly down.
The Australian dollar traded at 68.93 US cents, a small lift from 68.87 US cents at 5pm AEDT on Friday.
Overseas markets provided a cautious backdrop. Wall Street steadied after a turbulent week: the S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent, the Nasdaq climbed 1.1 per cent and the Dow Jones fell 237 points, or 0.5 per cent. Chip heavyweight Nvidia recovered 2.8 per cent, helping AI-related stocks regain some ground after recent volatility.
In fixed income, the US 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.86 per cent from 4.84 per cent late Thursday, supported by a jobs report that showed US employers hired more workers than economists expected. A preliminary University of Michigan survey suggested consumer sentiment improved for lower- and middle-wealth Americans but fell for those with the largest stock portfolios, and that one-year inflation expectations eased.
The local market’s modest gain on Monday leaves attention on earnings and commodity prices this week, as investors weigh sectoral shifts between resource strength and financial stock weakness.
