By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 traded lower in Monday’s morning deals, falling 42.90 points or 0.59% to 7,261.10 and extending last week’s losses of 0.5% as investor sentiment soured as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread exponentially both locally and abroad.
ASX 200 Futures were trading 0.31% lower.
Among stocks, major bankers were the biggest laggards on the index, with Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) down 1.31%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) down 1.7%, Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) falling 0.95%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) down 1.32%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) dipping 1.14% and Bank Of Queensland Ltd. (ASX:BOQ) falling 1.61%.
Real estate stocks also slipped with Mirvac Group (ASX:MGR) down 0.17%, Charter Hall Group (ASX:CHC) falling 0.51%, Stockland Corporation Ltd (ASX:SGP) down 0.68%, Scentre Group Ltd (ASX:SCG) falling 1.14% and Lend Lease Group (ASX:LLC) dipping 1.04%.
Tech stocks were mostly higher as Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) added 0.41%. Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) gained 0.89%, Altium Ltd (ASX:ALU) added 0.79%, Xero Ltd (ASX:XRO) gained 1.65% and Technology One Ltd (ASX:TNE) lifted 0.64%.
Heavyweight miners started mixed, with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) down 0.95%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) falling 1.38% while Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) traded flat at $18.99.
Meantime, Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX:MFG) shed 27.9% 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 1.568% while United States 10-Year yields were near 2-week lows of 1.405%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 was flat at 12,714.