The Australian sharemarket finished marginally higher on Monday as surging oil prices amid escalating Middle East tensions lifted energy stocks, offsetting weakness across the technology sector.
The S&P/ASX 200 added 5 points, or 0.1%, to 9,010.9, with just four of the 11 sectors finishing higher.
Energy stocks led the gains as crude oil prices climbed amid continued military escalation in the Middle East.
Santos rose 1.7%, Woodside Energy gained 1.6%, Beach Energy added 1.2%, and Viva Energy advanced 0.7%.
The Materials sector also finished slightly higher, with BHP rising 1.1%, Rio Tinto adding 0.8% and Fortescue gaining 3.2%.
Information technology led the declines, with WiseTech Global falling 3.8%, Xero shedding 3.9%, TechnologyOne losing 3.9% and Life360 dropping 3.5%.
Among individual stocks, senior residential developer Ingenia Communities was the top performer, surging 14.8% after rejecting an unsolicited, non-binding takeover proposal from U.S.-based private equity firm Warburg Pincus.
The Ingenia board determined that the indicative proposal substantially undervalued the company and was not in the best interests of shareholders.
Shipbuilder Austal added 2.1% after confirming it had held an initial, preliminary discussion with U.S.-based Wildcat Infrastructure, but had not received any proposal.
On the bond markets, the 10-year yield rose 0.2% to 5.203%, while two-year rates fell 0.1% to 4.813%.
