The Australian share market ended the session little changed on Monday as investors monitored global trade updates following United States President Donald Trump’s weekend announcement of a 30% tariff on goods from the European Union and Mexico, effective 1 August.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 9.7 points or 0.1% to 8,570.4, with seven of the 11 sectors finishing in the red.
Industrials fell after Computershare dropped 3%. The decline followed a Morgan Stanley downgrade to “underweight” and a price target of $33.70, implying nearly 18% downside.
Reece fell 2% and Brambles lost 0.4%.
Consumer Discretionary also retreated, with Tabcorp down 1.9%, Aristocrat Leisure falling 1%, and Wesfarmers down 0.3%.
Meanwhile, investor rotation into mining giants accelerated as iron ore prices edged closer to the key US$100 per tonne level.
BHP rose 0.9%, Rio Tinto gained 0.6%, while Fortescue Metals lost 0.5%.
Gold miners were among the strongest performers, buoyed by safe-haven flows as investors reacted to Trump’s fresh tariff threat. Gold bullion traded near US$3,370 an ounce, having risen 0.6% last week.
Northern Star and Newmont added 1.7% apiece, Evolution Mining lifted 1.9%, and St Barbara gained 1.8%.
The energy sector gained 0.6%, supported by strong performance in uranium miners. Deep Yellow climbed 4%, Paladin rose 2.9%, and Boss Energy advanced 2%.
Oil and gas producers Woodside and Santos also added modest gains, up 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively.
In contrast, technology stocks retreated. Xero lost 0.7%, Block tumbled 4.8%, and Appen fell 3.2%.
Among individual companies, Abacus Storage King rose 5.8% after confirming a $1.65 per share offer from South African billionaire Nathan Kirsh’s Ki Group and U.S.-listed Public Storage, representing a 15% premium on their initial bid.
DroneShield surged 17% after revealing plans to invest A$13 million to triple its Australian manufacturing capacity.
City Chic Collective closed 1.2% lower after forecasting underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $6 million to $6.5 million for FY25, up from an $8.4 million loss a year ago, but falling short of recent guidance.
Hansen Technologies soared 10.9% after upgrading its FY25 EBITDA forecast to between $110 million and $112 million, up from its prior range of $92 million to $101 million.
On the bond markets, yields ticked higher. The 10-year bond yield rose 0.2% to 4.371%, while the 2-year yield added 0.7% to 3.423%.
