Australian shares were little changed on Monday, with losses in miners and gold stocks offsetting gains in healthcare stocks, as caution prevailed ahead of the local central bank’s policy this week and US President Donald Trump’s July 9 tariff deadline.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was flat at 8,601.3 points as of 0042 GMT.
The benchmark had ended Friday 0.1% higher at 8,603 points, a record close.
The US will notify about a dozen countries of higher tariff rates starting Monday, Trump said last week, with the higher rates scheduled to take effect on August 1.
“Expect plenty more headlines this week, both positive and negative, as countries negotiate,” analysts at ANZ said.
Australia faces a 10% duty on all goods entering the United States, matching Washington’s baseline tariff on imports even as US exports to Australia are tariff-free.
Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which will announce its cash rate decision on Tuesday.
Markets are pricing in a 99.7% chance of a 25-basis-points cut.
On the local bourse, gold stocks shed 1.5% after losing 3.1% earlier in the session.
Northern Star Resources slipped nearly 6% after the miner said gold sales at its Kalgoorlie project were lower than its revised outlook.
Evolution Mining fell 1.4%. Energy stocks declined 0.2% as oil tumbled.
Woodside Energy lost 0.5%. Miners dropped 0.2%, tracking a fall in copper prices, while rate-sensitive financials were down 0.3%.
Bucking the trend, healthcare stocks rose 0.8%, with heavyweight CSL adding 1.3%.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.1% to 12,759.70.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to keep interest rates unchanged on July 9, according to a Reuters poll.
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