Australia Market end mixed amid Omicron spread

The Australian share market finished session mixed on Monday, 06 December 2021, as risk sentiments weighed down by a moderate fall on Wall Street last Friday and growing concerns over the economic impact of the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant cases in Sydney and other cities.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 rose 3.90 points, or 0.05%, to 7,245.07. The broader All Ordinaries index dropped 14.59 points, or 0.19%, to 7,529.04.

Total 6 of 11 sectors ended higher along with the S&P/ASX 200 Index. Utilities was the best performing sector, gaining 2%, while information technology was the bottom performing sector, loosing 2.2%.

The top performing stocks in this index were METCASH and SILVER LAKE RESOURCES, up 7.34% and 4.55% respectively. The bottom performing stocks in this index were ZIP Co and NEARMAP, down 10.1% and 7.05% respectively.

Shares of energy companies advanced, underpinned by firmer crude oil prices, with Whitehaven Coal up 2.66%, while Woodside Petroleum added 0.94%. Oil prices climbed around 2% in early Asia trading hours after mostly falling last week on Covid uncertainty and the OPEC+ plan to increase output in January. Brent futures were up 2% to $71.27 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.13% to $67.7 per barrel.

Technology stocks fell, with aerial imagery firm Nearmap plunging more than 7% to end at its lowest since April 2020.

Materials and resources declined, with heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto down 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively.

Among individual stocks, grocery firm Metcash gained 7.3% after reporting a 13% jump in half-year profit. The Company also declared a 31% increase in the first half dividend, bringing it to 10.5 cents per share, alongside a favourable outlook highlighting a strong start to trading in the second half.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar was at $0.7016, edging higher from levels around $0.69 earlier.

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