By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 was little changed on Monday at 7538.4 after gains of 1.44% in the previous week and touching record valuations during intraday trade as investors weighed strong corporate earnings reports against accelerating coronavirus cases across the country.
New South Wales reported 283 fresh cases today after record high infections over the weekend, with exposure sites ballooning and more regional areas placed under lockdown. Victoria recorded 11 new cases as health authorities moved to ease lockdown restrictions in regional areas amid unlinked community transmissions, while Queensland reported 4 community cases all linked to current outbreaks.
Among stocks, Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX:GOR) lost 5.25% and Silver Lake Resources Ltd (ASX:SLR) dipped 4.36% as Gold prices tumbled after an upbeat jobs report in the U.S. on Friday fueled speculation of sooner than expected policy tightening at the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO), BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP), Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) lost 1.14%, 0.67% and 1.34% respectively.
Later in the week, consumer confidence and consumer inflation expectations will also be closely monitored by market participants.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 declined 69.17 points or 0.54% to 12700.83.