Australian shares fell on Monday, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closing 0.3% lower, led by declines in energy and mining sectors due to disappointing Chinese economic data and cautious sentiment ahead of the Reserve Bank’s rate decision. Iron ore prices slumped following weaker industrial output and investment growth in China, causing major miners like Rio Tinto and BHP to drop. In contrast, gold miners benefited from a rally in gold prices, while the big four banks and companies such as ASX and Tabcorp saw gains amid mixed corporate news.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 19 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 2.5 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 4.25 points.
The SPI futures are down 27 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Communication Services, up 0.68 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Information Technology, down 1.5 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX), closing 3.55 per cent higher at $17.20. It was followed by shares in ASX (ASX:ASX) and Medibank Private (ASX:MPL).
The worst-performing large cap was The a2 Milk Company (ASX:A2M), closing 3.86 per cent lower at $6.72. It was followed by shares in Seven Group Holdings (ASX:SVW) and WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC).
Asian markets
Japan’s Nikkei has lost 1.87 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng has lost 0.02 per cent.
China’s Shanghai Composite has gained 0.12 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2,332.60 an ounce.
Iron ore is 1 per cent higher at US$107.65 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 1.8 per cent fall.
Light crude is trading $0.35 lower at US$78.10 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.95 US cents.