The Australian sharemarket edged lower on Monday, trimming earlier losses as reports emerged that Iran had proposed a new deal to the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz following stalled peace talks over the weekend.
Sentiment improved slightly after an Axios report indicated that Tehran, via Pakistani mediators, had presented a proposal aimed at restoring access to the Strait of Hormuz and ending the conflict.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell 20.1 points, or 0.2%, to 8,766.4, with nine of the 11 sectors trading lower.
Trading activity was muted due to public holidays in New South Wales, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory for Anzac Day.
The Utilities sector led declines, weighed down by Origin Energy, which dropped 5% after reporting weaker quarterly performance. Revenue from Australia Pacific LNG, in which Origin holds a significant stake, fell by A$247 million to $1.86 billion in the March quarter, as production declined to 164.5 petajoules.
Origin also revised its earnings outlook for UK-based Octopus Energy, forecasting a range between a $70 million loss and a $30 million profit, citing higher costs, regulatory changes and adverse weather conditions.
Other utilities stocks were also weaker, with AGL Energy down 1.4% and Meridian Energy falling 2.5%.
Energy stocks declined despite elevated oil prices, with Woodside Energy down 1.5%, Santos falling 1.8%, Beach Energy losing 2.1%, and Viva Energy dropping 3.8%.
Financials were mixed. Commonwealth Bank declined 0.8%, while National Australia Bank added 0.3%. Westpac edged 0.1% lower, and ANZ fell 0.8%.
The Materials sector provided some support, with BHP up 0.1% and Rio Tinto gaining 0.8%, while Fortescue slipped 0.1%.
Gold miners rallied broadly, with Newmont jumping 6.8% following stronger-than-expected results last week. Northern Star Resources rose 1.3%, and Evolution Mining gained 2.5%.
Among individual movers, Atlas Arteria surged 13.4% after receiving a $6.9 billion takeover proposal from IFM Investors.
Megaport rose 5.1% after securing a US$25.1 million (A$35.4 million) three-year compute and storage contract through its Latitude.sh subsidiary with an undisclosed US developer tooling company.
On the bond markets, Australian government bond yields rose, with the 10-year yield up 0.5% to 4.984% and the 2-year yield climbing 0.6% to 4.694%.
