The Australian sharemarket continued Friday’s volatile trend and seesawed throughout the Monday trading session wrap up the third consecutive close in the positive zone. The wrestle between Financials and Health Care’s advances and Materials’ retreat put the ASX200 in zig-zag motion.
Healthcare spearheaded the upward movement, as ResMed’ shares lifted 3.4 per cent on the back of JP Morgan’s upgrade of the price target for the respiratory equipment manufacturer.
The big banks were in bullish mode, as Commonwealth Bank
(ASX:CBA) rebounded from early losses to reach a fresh new record high of $98.76.
Mining stocks extended its under-performance driven by a decline in iron ore prices, as Fortescue Metals
(ASX:FMG) shed 4.2 per cent to $21.37.
At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.22 per cent or 15.60 points higher at 7045.90.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 124.00 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 11.25 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 12.00 points.
The SPI futures are pointing to a rise of 12 points when the market next opens.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Health Care, up 1.49 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Materials, down 1.09 per cent.
The best-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was Kogan.Com (ASX:KGN), closing 14.71 per cent higher at $9.98. It was followed by shares in Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR) and Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX).
The worst-performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 was OZ Minerals (ASX:OZL), closing 4.60 per cent lower at $24.50. It was followed by shares in Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) and AMP (ASX:AMP).
Asian markets
Japan's Nikkei has gained 0.22%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has lost 0.40%.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 0.14%.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1883.93 an ounce.
Iron ore is 5.30 per cent lower at US$200.72 a ton.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 6.20 per cent.
Light crude is trading $0.48 higher at US$62.13 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 77.40 US cents.
