By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 closed little changed at 7394.3 on Monday, touching fresh record highs during intraday deals after gains of 0.63% in the previous week. Miners and healthcare stocks lifted as second quarter corporate earnings season continues, but positive sentiment was capped as the domestic coronavirus situation worsens.
New South Wales recorded 145 new COVID-19 cases on Monday as Premier Gladys Berejiklian noted that a decision will be made on whether to extend current lockdown restrictions "in the next few days." Meantime, Victoria reported 11 cases on Monday, while Queensland and South Australia both reported a single community case.
Among stocks, Resmed Inc DRC (ASX:RMD) lifted 0.43% to record highs earlier in the session ahead of the firm’s quarterly results next Friday, while Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:LYC) surged 10.58% after reporting record quarterly revenue. Meantime, Silver Lake Resources Ltd (ASX:SLR) slumped 7.74% and A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX:A2M) lost 5.46%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 lost 63.09 points or 0.5% to 12673.23.