The Australian sharemarket surrendered earlier gains on Monday, weighed down by heavy selling in mining giants and profit-taking in the banking sector. This offset a strong rebound in technology stocks, which were recovering from a recent sell-off driven by artificial intelligence concerns. The S&P/ASX 200 Index initially climbed as much as 35.4 points to 8953, but ended the session up only 16.30 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 8933.90. Eight of the eleven sectors saw gains. The US markets were closed for a public holiday, and China was shut for Lunar New Year, leaving bargain hunters and the ASX’s earnings season to dictate price action.
Technology stocks experienced a significant recovery, with WiseTech soaring 12.8 per cent, Xero rising 7.7 per cent, and TechnologyOne climbing 5.6 per cent. These gains were countered by losses in the materials sector. Iron ore traded below $US100 a tonne, reaching $US97 on Singapore futures, amid increasing Chinese stockpiles and elevated output from Vale. Rio Tinto, a leading global mining group, dropped 4.5 per cent after suspending operations at its Simandou iron ore project in Guinea.
Financials also experienced profit-taking following the sector’s largest weekly gain since 2022. ANZ decreased by 2.6 per cent and National Australia Bank fell 1 per cent. Bendigo Bank declined 1.5 per cent after reporting earnings. Conversely, Westpac increased by 0.2 per cent and Commonwealth Bank rose 0.5 per cent. A2 Milk, an infant formula and dairy business, saw its shares increase by 2.9 per cent after reporting a better-than-expected first half and upgrading its full-year outlook.
Other significant movements included JB Hi-Fi, which jumped 7.3 per cent following a reported increase in sales to $6.1 billion. Qube saw a 3.3 per cent increase after signing an $11.7 billion sale transaction with Macquarie Asset Management. Aurizon surged 6.4 per cent after hiking its interim dividend. Treasury Wine Estates fell 5 per cent after reporting a first-half loss of $649 million and scrapping its interim dividend. Ansell rose 3.2 per cent after reporting first half net profit of $US95.7 million. Shipbuilder Austal soared 20.1 per cent as investors repurchased the stock following a recent drop.
