Local shares ended the day flat as falls in the big banks and major miners offset some gains in the telecommunications and healthcare sectors to deliver a glass flat day in terms of market movements.
Here's a quick recap:
- S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) flat at 5408 points
- ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) up 0.1% to 5473 points
- AUD/USD at US 71.6 cents
- Iron Ore at US$51.15 a tonne, according to the Metal Bulletin
- Gold at US$1,203.21 an ounce
- Brent oil at US$49.17 a barrel
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shed 0.9% to lead the big banks lower, with Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) falling 0.3%.
The best-performing company from the S&P/ ASX200 was LNG Ltd (ASX: LNG), which gained 6.5% to 57.5 cents, while the gold miners Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) and EVOLUTION FPO (ASX: EVN) were among the worst performers in dropping 5.8% and 3.8% lower respectively.
Elsewhere China-exposed baby formula manufacturers Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL) and Bellamy's Australia Ltd (ASX: BAL) dropped 4.1% and 4.2% respectively. This may in part be due to a news report in the Australian Financial Review claiming Blackmores' baby formula sales had been disappointing in April.
Here are Monday's top stories.
