By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 lost 11.80 points or 0.16% to 7,292.20 on Monday, following losses of 0.5% last week, with declines in energy and financials as investors remained cautious amid tightening central bank liquidity and accelerating Omicron infection rates across the globe.
The energy sector tumbled 3.39% after crude oil prices dropped to 2-week lows, as Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX:WPL) lost 2.88%, Oil Search Ltd (ASX:OSH) fell 2.42%, Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) lost 4.83% and Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) dipped 4.33%.
Major bankers also lagged, with Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) down 1.4%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) down 1.38%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) down 1.04%, Bank Of Queensland Ltd. (ASX:BOQ) falling 1.12%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) easing 0.10% and Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) closing flat at $99.2.
Real estate stocks recovered early losses to close higher, with Mirvac Group (ASX:MGR) up 0.68%, Charter Hall Group (ASX:CHC) adding 1.02% and Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) adding 0.15%, while Scentre Group Ltd (ASX:SCG) fell 0.98% and Lend Lease Group (ASX:LLC) lost 1.33%.
Tech stocks closed mixed with Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) up 0.49%, Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) down 0.61%, Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) losing 0.67%, Altium Ltd (ASX:ALU) adding 1.67%, Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) lifting 1.67% and Technology One Ltd (ASX:TNE) gaining 1.68%.
Heavyweight miners also finished mixed, with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) up 0.23%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) falling 0.72% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) adding 2.53%, while Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) shed 5.91%.
Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX:MFG) closed 32.9% lower after losing one of its largest institutional investment mandates with UK-based St James’s Place amid leadership instability at the Sydney investment firm.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates were at 1.551% while United States 10-Year yields extended 2-week lows to 1.368%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 was 0.38% higher at 12,766.