April 26 (Reuters) - Australian shares were subdued on Monday as losses in gold miners and technology stocks were offset by gains in banks and miners that rose after iron ore prices firmed.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was down 0.13% at 7,052.20 by 0105 GMT, after having gained as much as 0.2%.
Weighing on the sentiment was a three-day snap lockdown announced on Friday in Western Australia's capital Perth after two people tested positive for COVID-19. top percentage gainers on the benchmark index were NIB Holdings NHF.AX , up more than 13%, followed by Perpetual PPT.AX that gained 5.5%. Top losers were JB Hi-Fi JBH.AX and Silver Lake Resources SLR.AX , down 3% each.
Among other gainers, heavyweight miners .AXMM rose 0.5% to their highest since March 4 as iron ore prices traded near record highs on strong global steel demand. IRONORE/
Mining giants BHP Group BHP.AX and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) RIO.AX rose about 1.4% and 1%, respectively.
Banks .AXFJ rose 0.8% to their highest since Feb. 26, with Bendigo and Adelaide Bank BEN.AX and AMP Ltd AMP.AX gaining about 0.5% each.
Westpac WBC.AX added a percent to mark its third straight session of rise, after saying it expects a A$288 million ($223.14 million) net gain on its investment in cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global, offseting a hit to first-half cash earnings of A$282 million from provisions. stocks were the biggest percentage losers on the benchmark as bullion declined on strong U.S. economic data. The gold index .AXGD slipped more than 2%. GOL/
De Grey Mining Ltd DEG.AX fell 7.5% and Evolution Mining Ltd EVN.AX lost 2.7%.
Technology stocks .AXIJ declined as much as 0.6%, reversing course from a gain of 0.4% early in the session. Xero Ltd XRO.AX and WiseTech Global WTC.AX slipped about 1% each.
In other markets, Japan's Nikkei .N225 dipped 0.14%, while S&P 500 E-minis futures EScv1 slipped 0.13%. .T .N
Markets in New Zealand were closed for a holiday. ($1 = 1.2907 Australian dollars)