Australian shares rose on Monday tracking a strong finish on Wall Street on Friday, while stocks in tech major WiseTech Global and lithium miner Mineral Resources fell after the firms initiated investigations concerning their top executives.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.7% to 8,340.2, as of 2333 GMT.
The benchmark fell 0.9% on Friday. Shares of Australia’s biggest listed tech firm WiseTech Global tumbled more than 18% in their worst session in more than a year.
The company said it will investigate certain matters regarding its chief, after media reports alleged payments were made to CEO Richard White’s former lover, among others.
Tech stocks, the only sector trading lower, lost as much as 5.1%, touching their lowest level in nearly two months.
Mineral Resources fell nearly 14% in its worst trading day since November 2009, after it said it initiated an investigation into an alleged tax evasion scheme by its billionaire founder, Chris Ellison.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 36.86 points, or 0.09%, to 43,275.91 on Friday.
The S&P 500 gained 23.20 points, or 0.40%, while Nasdaq gained 115.94 points, or 0.63%.
In Sydney, mining stocks rose 1% despite iron ore prices declining on persistent weakness in top trader China’s economy and steel market. Iron ore giants BHP and Rio Tinto gained 1.1%, each, while Fortescue climbed 0.4%.
Financials rose 1% to hit a record high, with the “Big Four” banks gaining between 0.4% and 0.9%.
Energy stocks rose 1.1%, notwithstanding a fall in oil prices. Sector majors Woodside rose 0.8% while Santos climbed 1.3%.
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Gold stocks tracked bullion prices to rise as much as 3.1% to a more than four-year high.
Top gold miners Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining gained 1.9% and 3.8%, respectively.
The New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.1% to 12,816.
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