SYDNEY: Australian shares fell 0.2 percent on Monday, after a disappointing performance on Wall Street despite solid US jobs numbers on Friday, though the gold sector and Wesfarmers helped buoy the market from session lows.
The S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 9.1 points to 5,413.7 at the close of trade, after hitting an intraday low of 5,391.3.
The benchmark tacked on 0.2 percent on Friday, and 1 percent for the week, its third consecutive week of gains.
Shares in supermarket operator Wesfarmers Ltd climbed 1.2 percent after the company said it was selling its insurance businesses.
Elsewhere, Australian job advertisements in newspapers and on the Internet rose for a third straight month in March, a further sign that demand for labour is picking up after a long fallow period.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index lost 0.9 percent or 48.1 points to finish the session at 5,075.8.
Comments
Comments are closed.