Australia Stocks close lower

The Australian share market finished session lower on Monday, 18 January 2021, as risk aversion selloff triggered on tracking soft lead from Wall Street last Friday. Meanwhile, the emergence of new COVID-19 cases in New South Wales over the weekend also dented sentiment.

At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 fell 52.40 points, or 0.78%, to 6,663.04. The broader All Ordinaries dropped 51.43 points, or 0.74%, to 6,935.36.

Losses were led by underperformance from resources, particularly materials which slid most on caution ahead of quarterly production numbers from the mining giants over the next two days. Financials were also among the larger decliners in line with a risk-off sentiment amid worries over rising coronavirus cases in the New South Wales state.

The miners were a major weight on the ASX in the first session of the week, with BHP falling 2.9% to A$45.45, Rio Tinto dropping 1.4% to A$118.79, and Fortescue Metals down 1.4% to A$24.82. Mineral Resources, South32, and Lynas Rare Earths were also down.

Shares of NAB were the worst of the major lenders, dropping 2% to A$23.65. Insurer QBE fell 5.7% to A$8.08 after losing an appeal in the UK courts over business interruption claims.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7679 following a slide late last week from levels above $0.775.

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