The Australian sharemarket closed lower on Monday as investors assessed renewed uncertainty around United States trade policy after the Supreme Court curtailed President Donald Trump’s tariff authority.
Trump responded over the weekend by announcing he would impose the maximum temporary tariff of 15% on all imports.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 55.4 points or 0.6% to 9,026.0, with eight of the 11 sectors finishing in negative territory.
The Information Technology sector led declines, with Xero down 2.9%, WiseTech Global and TechnologyOne falling 5.2% apiece, while Megaport tanked 17.5%.
Nuix, however, surged 15.1% after its December-half results topped expectations, swinging to a net profit of $11.1 million.
The Australian real estate investment trust (A-REIT) and Health Care sectors each dropped more than 2% apiece. Goodman Group dipped 3.6%, Charter Hall lost 5.6%, and Mirvac retreated 0.3%, while Lendlease slid 7.2% after reporting an operating net loss of $200 million, driven by a $284 million writedown.
Health Care heavyweights CSL, Pro Medicus and Cochlear also fell 3.8%, 8.9% and 1.7%, respectively.
Regis Healthcare jumped 7.6%, however, as first-half revenue and EBITDA beat forecasts, despite net profit being weighed down by acquisition-related items.
Rising global uncertainty lifted gold prices, supporting locally-listed miners, with Northern Star Resources adding 3.4%, Evolution Mining up 3.5% and Newmont Corporation ending 4.9% higher.
Major diversified miners were mixed, with Rio Tinto down 1.4%, BHP adding 1.3% and Fortescue Metals Group easing 0.3%.
Perenti plunged 13.8% after the mining services group reported softer-than-expected first-half earnings and trimmed its full-year revenue and EBITDA guidance.
Heavyweight financials were also a drag on the index, with Commonwealth Bank down 0.6%, ANZ falling 2.3%, Westpac down 1.2% and National Australia Bank finishing 0.9% lower.
Energy stocks were weaker amid lower Brent crude prices, as market participants looked ahead to a fresh round of U.S.-Iran negotiations later in the week.
Woodside Energy declined 1.2%, and Santos dropped 2.3%. Ampol slid 2.1% after reporting a 33% fall in full-year net profit, though earnings were stronger before inventory valuation impacts.
Among other earnings movers, Reece rallied 13.9% after first-half EBIT of $262 million beat market expectations, supported by stronger cost management in Australia.
Austal fell 11% following results that beat expectations but raised accounting questions after a recent earnings downgrade.
Kogan.com rose 5.5% after delivering beats across key metrics, with EBITDA up 23% and adjusted net profit 28% ahead of consensus.
On the bond markets, local 10-year and two-year yields slipped 0.5% and 0.7% to 4.722% and 4.198%, respectively.
