SYDNEY/WELLINGTON: Australian stocks pared early gains to close flat on Monday as worries about rising Covid-19 cases in the country’s most populous state, New South Wales, countered a surge in shares of Sydney Airport after a $16.7 billion buyout bid.

The S&P/ASX 200 index ended flat at 7,315 points after rising as much as 0.5% earlier in the session.

Sydney Airport soared 34% after a group of infrastructure investors proposed one of Australia’s biggest-ever buyouts, a A$22.26 billion bid for Australia’s only listed airport operator.

Limiting gains on the benchmark was Tabcorp Holdings, which fell 5%, as the gambling firm said it would spin off its Lotteries & Keno business into a listed entity, drawing an end to a company-wide review it undertook earlier this year as interest built for a separate unit.

ASX 200 Energy index rose 2%, boosted by Australia’s largest independent coal miner Whitehaven Coal Ltd, which rose 3.3%, and fuel supplier Ampol Ltd, which gained 3%.

Technology stocks fell 1%, as AI-data developer Appen Ltd fell 5.1% and software provider Nuix Ltd lost 4.9%.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.8% to 12,812.3 points.