The Australian sharemarket finished flat on Monday, trimming early losses as investors positioned for the return of major United States economic data releases following the end of the government shutdown.
The S&P/ASX 200 index ended little changed, up 1.9 points to 8,636.4, with seven of eleven sectors closing in the green.
The Information Technology sector finished 1.2% higher, with WiseTech Global up 1.2%, TechnologyOne gaining 2.9% and Codan up 2.8%.
Energy stocks also lifted the overall market, with Ampol up 3.8%, Woodside Energy adding 0.9% and Santos up 0.8%.
The rebound followed an attack on Russia’s Novorossiysk port by Ukraine last week, which caused damage and temporarily halted operations, which have since reportedly resumed.
A-REITs also finished stronger, with Goodman Group up 0.5%, Charter Hall adding 1.7%, Mirvac up 0.9% and Scentre Group adding 0.3%.
HMC Capital gained 1.4% after receiving credit-approved commitments from existing lenders to extend and increase its revolving debt facility from $675 million to $715 million.
Health care underperformed, with CSL down 0.8%, ResMed 2.1% and Cochlear declining 0.5%.
Pro Medicus jumped 4.2% however, after securing a five-year, $44 million contract with Advanced Radiology Management for its Visage 7 Enterprise Imaging Platform.
Financials were a drag on the broader market as Commonwealth Bank extended its losses, down 1%, while Macquarie shed 2.3%. ANZ and Westpac gained 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively and National Australia Bank finished flat.
Materials were mixed. BHP dropped 0.6% after the UK High Court ruled the miner liable for the 2015 Samarco Fundão dam collapse.
Rio Tinto and Fortescue, however, recovered earlier declines to finish 0.6% and 1.1% higher, respectively.
In company news, IperionX dipped 3% after the company said it remains focused on scaling up its titanium production and manufacturing operations in Virginia, responding to a short-seller report from Spruce Point Capital that sent the stock into a trading halt last week.
Agribusiness group Elders rose 6.3% after reporting a 12% lift in net profit to $50.3 million for the year to 30 September, citing a solid outlook for sheep and cattle prices.
Endeavour Group edged 0.3% higher after interim chief executive Kate Beattie told shareholders that, despite a soft start to FY26, the company expected trading conditions to improve.
On the bond market, 10-year yields were up 0.2% to 4.481% and 2-year yields were down 0.4% to 3.711%.
