At lunch on Monday the S&P/ASX 200 index has followed the lead of U.S. markets and dropped lower. The benchmark index is down 0.5% to 6,700.5 points at the time of writing.
Here's what is happening on the market today:
Bank shares lower.
The big four banks are weighing heavily on the market on Monday. All four are trading notably lower at lunch. The worst performer in the group is the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price with a decline of just over 1.1%. The other banks are not far behind it, though.
Gold miners jump.
Rising tensions between the United States and Iran has led to increasing demand for safe haven assets on Monday. This has sent gold miners such as Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) jumping higher. Most gold miners are on the rise today, taking the S&P/ASX All Ords Gold index a sizeable 1.9% higher at lunch.
Energy shares higher.
The very same tensions have also sent oil prices charging higher. According to Bloomberg, on Friday night the WTI crude oil price rose 3.1% to US$63.05 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price stormed 3.6% higher to US$68.60 a barrel. This has led to energy shares such as Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) starting the week on a high.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the benchmark index on Monday has been the Evolution Mining share price with a gain of over 4%. A rise in the gold price and increasing demand for safe haven assets have driven its shares higher. The worst performer on the index is the Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX: BGA) share price with a 7.5% decline. This morning the diversified food company warned that some of its suppliers have been impacted by the bushfires.
