Australia shares flat as investors swoop on bargains, commodities remain weak

SYDNEY: Australian shares ended flat on Monday as gains from bargain hunting were curtailed by weakness in the prices of key commodities such as oil and iron ore.

After opening in negative territory, the S&P/ASX 200 index recovered to close up 2.3 points at 5,109.

The benchmark is down 5.6 percent so far this year.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 13.0 points or 0.2 percent to finish the session at 6,120.8.