Australia shares end flat as miners offset gains in tech, health stocks

Falcon Metals

22/12/2021 06:37

* Link Administration tops benchmark index after $2.48 bln
deal
    * Rio Tinto drops 2%
    * Tech, health stocks extend gains to third straight session

 (Updates to close)
    By Dhriti Garg
    Dec 22 (Reuters) - Australian shares were little changed on
Wednesday with gains in technology and healthcare segments
countered by a slump in mining stocks, as worries over the
economic fallout from the Omicron coronavirus variant kept
investors on the edge.    
    The S&P/ASX 200 index  .AXJO  closed 0.1% higher at 7,364.8
points. The benchmark had gained 0.9% on Tuesday. 
    Australia conducted an emergency national cabinet meeting on
Wednesday where more vaccination funding was announced, as the
country reported more than 5,000 daily COVID-19 infections for
the first time during the pandemic.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2T70J7
    A jump in coronavirus cases globally, just days before
Christmas, has led to social mobility restrictions in some
countries, threatening economic activity.
    Miners  .AXMM  were among top losers in Australia, reversing
course to drop 0.4% as iron ore futures declined on possible
COVID-19 curbs in China.  IRONORE/ 
    Global miner BHP Group Ltd  BHP.AX  slid 0.8%, while rival
Rio Tinto Ltd  RIO.AX  fell 2%.
    There's some weakness in steel manufacturing and property
prices in China again and markets are waking up to the fact that
iron ore's recent rally was going to be unsustainable, said
Mathan Somasundaram, CEO of Deep Data Analytics.    
    Gold stocks  .AXGD  eased 1%, led by a 3.7% fall in Regis
Resources Ltd  RRL.AX .
     Gold miner Falcon Metals  FAL.AX , not part of the
sub-index, sank 37% in its market debut and was the top laggard
on the main index.
    Technology stocks  .AXIJ  closed higher for a third day,
with share registry firm Link Administration Holdings Ltd
 LNK.AX  leading gains on the sub-index and on the benchmark,
surging 15% on accepting a C$3.2 billion ($2.48 billion) buyout
offer from a Canadian company.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2T70J3      
    Health sector  .AXHJ  rose 0.8%, led by Polynovo  PNV.AX 
and Pro Medicus  PME.AX  gaining 4.8% and 2.2%, respectively.   
   New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index  .NZ50  firmed 0.07%
to 12,865.2 points, with pharmaceutical company EBOS Group
 EBO.NZ  leading the gains.


($1 = 1.2917 Canadian dollars)

 (Reporting by Dhriti Garg in Bengaluru;
Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)
 ((Dhriti.Garg@thomsonreuters.com;))
 
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