AGL 40.00 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
AIRLINK 129.06 Decreased By ▼ -0.47 (-0.36%)
BOP 6.75 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (1.05%)
CNERGY 4.49 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-3.02%)
DCL 8.55 Decreased By ▼ -0.39 (-4.36%)
DFML 40.82 Decreased By ▼ -0.87 (-2.09%)
DGKC 80.96 Decreased By ▼ -2.81 (-3.35%)
FCCL 32.77 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
FFBL 74.43 Decreased By ▼ -1.04 (-1.38%)
FFL 11.74 Increased By ▲ 0.27 (2.35%)
HUBC 109.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.97 (-0.88%)
HUMNL 13.75 Decreased By ▼ -0.81 (-5.56%)
KEL 5.31 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-1.48%)
KOSM 7.72 Decreased By ▼ -0.68 (-8.1%)
MLCF 38.60 Decreased By ▼ -1.19 (-2.99%)
NBP 63.51 Increased By ▲ 3.22 (5.34%)
OGDC 194.69 Decreased By ▼ -4.97 (-2.49%)
PAEL 25.71 Decreased By ▼ -0.94 (-3.53%)
PIBTL 7.39 Decreased By ▼ -0.27 (-3.52%)
PPL 155.45 Decreased By ▼ -2.47 (-1.56%)
PRL 25.79 Decreased By ▼ -0.94 (-3.52%)
PTC 17.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.96 (-5.2%)
SEARL 78.65 Decreased By ▼ -3.79 (-4.6%)
TELE 7.86 Decreased By ▼ -0.45 (-5.42%)
TOMCL 33.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.78 (-2.26%)
TPLP 8.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.66 (-7.28%)
TREET 16.27 Decreased By ▼ -1.20 (-6.87%)
TRG 58.22 Decreased By ▼ -3.10 (-5.06%)
UNITY 27.49 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.22%)
WTL 1.39 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.72%)
BR100 10,445 Increased By 38.5 (0.37%)
BR30 31,189 Decreased By -523.9 (-1.65%)
KSE100 97,798 Increased By 469.8 (0.48%)
KSE30 30,481 Increased By 288.3 (0.95%)

SYDNEY/WELLINGTON: Australian shares closed higher on a cautious note, as traders braced for restlessness during the US Presidential election week, while gold stocks led the gains as uncertainty stoked bids for the safe-haven metal on Monday.

The S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 0.4% at 5,951.30, following a 0.6% slide on Friday.

On the home front, the Australian gold index gained 1.1%, helped by a rise in bullion prices, as increased global uncertainty drew investors to the safety of gold.

Catalyst Metals rose 6.1% while Bellevue Gold advanced 4%.

The heavyweight financial sector gained 0.4% after the country's second-largest lender Westpac posted full-year results and said it intends to return to a half-yearly dividend cycle.

AMP Ltd jumped 10% after the wealth manager said the proposed takeover offer from Ares Management implied a 21% premium to Friday's closing price.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index slipped 0.1% to 12,070.83.

Heartland Group Holdings slid 5.2% while Pacific Edge shed 4.2%.

Global markets await the hotly contested US election, with Democrat Joe Biden holding a commanding national lead over President Donald Trump. Nevertheless, Trump has stayed competitive in the swing states that could decide the White House race.

"Some attention turning to the outcome of who will hold the Senate, as a Biden White House without Democratic control of the Senate could still mean difficulty for already slow progress in a new fiscal stimulus package to pass," said James Tao, market analyst at CommSec.

Wall Street, along with global markets, have wildly swung in volatility in the weeks building up to the US election over implementation of a stimulus deal to revive the pandemic-battered economy.-Reuters

Comments

Comments are closed.