The local market closed in the red but recovered from its early morning trough.
Here's a quick recap:
- S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) down 0.9% to 5,003 points
- ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) down 0.9% to 5,064 points
- AUD/USD at US 71.13 cents
- Iron Ore at US$47.80 a tonne, according to the Metal Bulletin
- Gold at US$1,092.86 an ounce
- Brent oil at US$44.96 a barrel
The ASX traded in a narrow range for most of the day after investors adjusted to fears related to the Paris terrorist attacks over the weekend, and to concerns regarding weak commodity prices.
The banks provided no support for the day with Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) the worst, shedding 1.6%. Its three rivals all lost between 1.3% and 1.5%, while Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) and Woolworths Limited (ASX: WOW) lost 0.9% and 1.8% each.
The miners were in the red again today, led by Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) which fell 2.6%. The gold miners, on the other hand, benefited from greater uncertainty with Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) and EVOLUTION FPO (ASX: EVN) closing 2.8% and 2% higher.
Mesoblast Limited (ASX: MSB) was the biggest loser, shedding 38.4% following a very disappointing float on the tech-heavy NASDAQ in the US. Meanwhile, Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (ASX: LNG) rose 14.6% after it secured a favourable contract at its Magnolia project.
Here are Monday's top stories:
