Victoria reported 1,069 new locally acquired cases and ten deaths on Monday, with the active cases totalling 15,607 across Victoria. NSW has reported only 222 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and four deaths.
At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 fell 18.01 points, or 0.24%, to 7,434.20. The broader All Ordinaries index dropped 11.64 points, or 0.15%, to 7,756.28.
Shares of lenders declined, with Commonwealth Bank down 1.2%, ANZ Bank down by 1.6%, and Westpac down 1.4%. National Australian bank shares declined 0.8% as investors were disappointed by NAB's final dividend of 67 because the bank had been paying final dividends of 83 and 99 before the pandemic.
Shares of materials advanced, with BHP up 1%, and Fortescue up 1.8%, but Rio Tinto declined by 0.2%. Lynas Rare Earths gained 7.6%. Chalice Mining surged 28.5% after announcing the largest global nickel sulphide discovery since 2000 and the biggest find of platinum group elements in Australia ever at its Julimar Complex 70 kilometres north of Perth.
CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar was at $0.7401, still off levels above $0.75 seen last week.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content