Australian shares closed lower on Monday as investor sentiment weakened following renewed tensions in the Middle East and a sharp sell-off in CSL shares after the biotechnology giant issued a profit downgrade and announced a major writedown.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 42.60 points, or 0.5%, to close at 8,701.8, with eight of the 11 sectors finishing in negative territory.
Healthcare stocks led the market decline after CSL plunged 16% to its lowest level in 11 years.
The company cut its FY26 revenue guidance to US$15.2 billion (A$21.01 billion) and forecast profit of $3.1 billion, both below the previous year’s result.
CSL also flagged an additional US$5 billion (A$6.91 billion) in non-cash pre-tax impairments across FY26 and FY27, intensifying investor concerns over the company’s outlook.
Other healthcare stocks also weakened, with Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Ramsay Health Care each slipping 0.2%.
The Energy sector was among the few bright spots on the market as oil prices climbed after President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s latest response to a U.S. proposal aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East.
Woodside Energy gained 1.5%, Santos finished flat, while Beach Energy declined 1.4%.
Financial stocks also came under pressure. Commonwealth Bank fell 1.1%, National Australia Bank lost 0.4%, Westpac dropped 0.9%, and ANZ slid 2.4% as the stock traded ex-dividend.
Among individual companies, Inghams climbed 7.4% after reaffirming its forecast for underlying EBITDA of between A$180 million and $200 million, despite warning of higher fuel costs.
oOh!media rallied 7.1% after disclosing it had received an unsolicited takeover proposal from I Squared Capital valuing the outdoor advertising company at nearly $770 million, based on an offer price of $1.45 a share.
In fixed-income markets, Australian government bond yields moved higher. The 10-year bond yield rose 0.5% to 4.995%, while the two-year yield increased 0.7% to 4.709%.
