Australian shares up

Australian shares added 0.1 percent on Monday, nudging away from 3-1/2 week lows as the mining sector reversed earlier losses to edge higher, although investors were still cautious as the unrest in Iraq continued. The S&P/ASX 200 index added 7.3 percent to 5,412.3 at the close of trade. The benchmark fell 0.4 percent on Friday, and was down 1.1 percent last week, its third consecutive week of losses.
Elsewhere, Australia's unemployment rate is likely to remain relatively high well into 2015, a top central banker said on Monday, helping to keep a lid on wages and inflation. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index added 0.2 percent, or 8.3 points to 5,178.8. Investors also exercised caution as the unrest in Iraq continued.
The United States ordered military personnel to boost security for its diplomatic staff in Baghdad on Sunday and said some staff were being evacuated from the embassy as the Iraqi government battled to hold off insurgent forces. All of the major banks fell with Commonwealth Bank of Australia slipping 0.3 percent and Westpac Banking Corp down 0.4 percent. Among mid-tier banks, Bank of Queensland Ltd was down 0.9 percent.
"The major banks have struggled amid fears of more stringent regulation," said Niall King, sales trader at CMC Markets in a note. Some miners eked out a gain with BHP Billiton Ltd adding 0.4 percent and Iluka Resources Ltd up nearly 2 percent. Rio Tinto Ltd slipped 0.2 percent.
"I think the news is that people are still worried about China given that iron ore prices have continued to fall," said Damien Boey, equities strategist at Credit Suisse in Sydney. "As you look at the domestic data it is starting to look a little bit worse, so a mixture of local and Chinese concerns are continuing to weigh on the market, the geopolitical stuff (in Iraq) is probably there in the margin." UGL Ltd lost 0.7 percent after the Australian engineering services company confirmed the cash sale of its property arm to a consortium for A$1.215 billion. TPG Telecom Ltd added 0.5 percent.
Echo Entertainment Group Ltd bounced 7.8 percent to A2.99, its highest since July 2013 after upgrading its FY 2014 EBITDA to between A$430 million to A$435 million. Arrium Ltd lost 4.2 percent after it refinanced $725 million equivalent of syndicated facilities, which are due to mature in the second half of 2015. Super Retail Group climbed 2 percent after saying its full year net profit after tax is expected to be between A$107 million and A$109 million, an increase of around 5 percent in reported earnings over the prior year. Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd added 1.9 percent.