The Australian sharemarket closed flat on Monday, supported by materials stocks as most sectors declined.
The ASX 200 ended trading at 8,728.60 points. Nine of 11 sectors fell during the session.
Materials was the best-performing sector, up 1.8%. Shares in uranium producers NexGen Energy and Paladin Energy increased by 8.4% and 7.1% respectively.
Zircon and rare earths producer Iluka Resources and Lynas Rare Earths rose 6.1%.
WiseTech Global shares dropped 3.2%, with the Australian Competiton and Consumer Commission (ACCC) saying WiseTech had completed its August acquisition of E2open Parent Holdings before the regulator could review the competition implications.
WiseTech said on 31 December it had agreed with the ACCC to sell Expedient Software, a subsidiary of E2open, “to address the ACCC’s competition concerns”.
Australian two-year bond yields dipped 0.04% to 4.061%, while 10-year yields fell 0.03% to 4.786%.
In the U.S., markets closed higher on Friday. The S&P 500 gained 0.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite was roughly flat.
U.S. futures rose slightly on Sunday evening (Monday AEDT) following the U.S. Saturday strike on Venezuela and detention of its president. Nasdaq futures led gains, increasing by 0.4%.
