Australian shares edged lower on Monday, as a Wall Street-led drop in local tech stocks and banks outweighed sharp gains in miners and energy stocks following a consistent spike in commodity prices on supply risks from Russia.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.9% at 7,044.9 points, with the tech index leading losses.
The tech sub-index slid 3.9%, down for a third straight session and dropping to its lowest since Feb. 25. Payments firm Block Inc's Australian shares declined 9%, the biggest percentage loser on the sub-index.
Financial stocks fell 1.5%, on track for their fourth session of losses and lowest levels since Jan 28.
Major banks dropped between 0.8% and 1.7%, although the Commonwealth Bank of Australia was up 0.9%.
However, robust commodity prices have set energy stocks for their best session since November 2020, logging a gain of over 6%.
Australia's top independent gas producer Woodside Petroleum outperformed gains in the energy sector, surging nearly 10%. Shares of Santos jumped 6%.
Australian gold miners jumped 4.7% to their highest levels since July 16 as demand for safe-haven bullion lifted prices by about 4% in the past week.
Resolute Mining was the top gainer on the sub-index, climbing 11%, followed by De Grey Mining, up nearly 10%.
Miners were up 0.9%, dominated by gains in gold stocks, with sector heavyweights BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals all rising 1.3%-2.5%.
Among individual stocks, Qantas Airways was among the top losers on the benchmark ASX 200 index, slumping about 8% on higher oil prices.
The country's top power producer AGL Energy said on Monday it had rejected a sweetened A$8.25 apiece takeover bid from a Brookfield-led consortium. Its shares were down 0.1%.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell nearly 0.9% to 12,027.97.
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