The Australian share market has closed lower due to large falls from the heavyweight energy and banking sectors.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed 14.8 points, or 0.26 per cent, lower at 5,724.2 points.
Bell Direct equities analyst Julia Lee said the resource sector’s losses eased during afternoon trade as iron ore futures improved but the energy sector was consistently the biggest drag on Monday after global oil prices fell around one per cent on Friday.
“The market has been weighed down mostly by the energy sector,” she said.
“The mining related materials sector, which was a big weight on the market, bounced back after the Dalian iron ore futures jumped more than four per cent.
“The banks have come under pressure while the best sector is the consumer discretionary with Crown, Aristocrat Leisure and Super Retail Group outperforming the market.”
Energy giant Woodside dropped 55 cents, or 1.72 per cent, to $31.46, while rival Santos declined 16 cents, or 4.09 per cent, to $3.75 and Oil Search was off 18 cents, or 2.49 per cent, at $7.04.
Among the major miners, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton fell 39 cents to $62.49 and seven cents to $24.99, respectively.
As for the big four banks, CBA dropped 78 cents to $82.24, Westpac fell 28 cents to $33.81, ANZ lost eight cents to $30.88, while NAB bucked the trend to rise eight cents to $31.98.
Shares in Aristocrat Leisure rose 81 cents, or 5.1 per cent, to $16.68 after it forecast normalised full-year profit growth of 20 to 30 per cent.
Crown Resorts gained 30 cents, or 2.45 per cent, to $12.54, while Rebel Sports and BCF owner the Super Retail Group climbed 24 cents, or 2.34 per cent, to $10.49, after both revealed strong half-year results last week.
Property developer Lendlease posted a 11.6 per cent rise in half-year net profit to $394.8 million on Monday which lifted its shares 53 cents, or 3.58 per cent, to $15.35.
Another strong performer was insurer QBE which added 30 cents, or 2.44 per cent, to $12.60 after it announced full-year profit rose 22 per cent to $US844 million ($A1.1 billion) and that it will buy back $A1 billion of shares over the next three years.
One of the worst performers was law firm Slater and Gordon which plunged 21.9 per cent to 12.5 cents after it reported a first-half loss of $425 million largely due to another $350 million writedown of its troubled UK business.
ON THE ASX:
* At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 14.8 points, or 0.26 per cent, at 5,724.2 points
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 13.1 points, or 0.23 per cent, at 5,773.8 points
* The March SPI200 futures contract was down 7 points at 5,692 points, with 34,242 contracts traded
* National turnover was 3.7 billion securities traded, worth $6.8 billion
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1700 AEDT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 76.92 US cents, from 77.16 on Friday
* 86.28 Japanese yen, from 87.05 yen
* 72.79 euro cents, from 72.92 cents
* 61.86 British pence, from 61.47 pence
* 106.84 New Zealand cents, from 106.82 NZ cents
GOLD:
The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1700 AEDT was $US1,257.60 per fine ounce, up $US7.10 from $US1,250.50 on Friday.
BOND SNAPSHOT AT 1630 AEDT:
* CGS 5.25 per cent March 2019, 1.796pct, from 1.792pct
* CGS 4.25pct April 2026, 2.662pct, from 2.678pct
Sydney Futures Exchange prices:
* March 2017 10-year bond futures contract at 97.260 (implying a yield of 2.74pct), from 97.235 (2.765pct) on Friday
* March 2017 3-year bond futures contract at 98.020 (1.98pct), from 98.000 (2.000pct).
(*Currency closes taken at 1700 AEDT previous local session, bond market closes taken at 1630 AEDT previous local session)
