INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Australian shares were largely flat on Monday as losses in material and banking stocks undercut positive sentiment stemming from easing
US-China trade tensions, though MA news buoyed Santos Ltd and underpinned the energy sector.
The SP/ASX 200 index fell a modest 8.10 points,
or 0.08 per cent, to 6,079.30 by 0257 GMT
The benchmark declined 0.1 per cent on Friday.
Christopher Conway, head of research and trading at Australian Stock Report, said investors
were "sitting on their hands", awaiting more details on news that the United States was putting a trade war with China "on hold" for
now.
Banks appeared to take the lead from Wall Street after US financials posted their biggest one-day loss in nearly three weeks on
Friday.
Westpac Banking Corp slipped 0.8 per cent, while National Australia Bank Ltd fell 0.9 per cent.
Materials stocks were also under the
cosh, hurt by lower iron ore prices.
Global miner BHP dipped 0.6 per cent, while Rio Tinto Ltd dropped 1.2 per cent.
Energy stocks were
among the top gainers, boosted by higher oil prices and positive sentiment emanating from a takeover bid for oil and gas producer Santos
Ltd.
Santos received an improved $10.84 billion offer from US-based suitor Harbour Energy, a proposal that comes at a time when oil prices
are at their highest since late 2014
Shares of the Adelaide-based company rose as much as 3.4 per cent to a near three-year high.
Riding the flurry of positive news in the
sector, Woodside Petroleum Ltd firmed about 0.4 per cent, while Beach Energy Ltd rose 1 per cent.
Elsewhere, CSL Ltd rose 1.6 per cent to
its highest level, leading the Australian healthcare index to a record high.
An upgraded profit outlook had sent CSL shares surging on
Friday, helping it become one of the country's five biggest firms by market value.
Adding to gains on the benchmark, phone company Vocus
Group Ltd traded 6.8 per cent higher after naming Kevin Russell as its group managing director chief executive officer.
Across the Tasman
sea, New Zealand's benchmark SP/NZX 50 index fell 0.4 per cent or 35.85 points to 8,621.48.
Consumer staples accounted for nearly half the
losses, with dairy firm a2 Milk Company Ltd sliding about 2.7 per cent.
Health products company Comvita Ltd slumped as much as 9.9 per cent
to its lowest in nine-months following announcement that talks with an unnamed third party for a possible takeover of the company have ended
without a deal due to a "considerable distance" on price.
