By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 traded 14.1 points or 0.19% lower to 7411.1 early in Tuesday’s session following slight gains of 0.25% yesterday as mixed performances from heavyweight mining and financial stocks sapped investors’ risk appetite.
In coronavirus news, Victoria tallied 445 fresh cases today, following yesterday’s yearly high of 473 as infection rates continue to accelerate. Of the local cases, 129 are linked to known cases and outbreaks. Meantime, New South Wales added 1127 cases after health authorities announced that the local government area of Yass Valley would re-enter lockdown for two weeks from Tuesday after a local case was detected.
Among stocks, miners were mixed with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) adding 0.41%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) down 0.12% and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) falling 1.52% as Iron ore prices moved lower overnight. Meantime, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) has confirmed that the sale of its Pacific businesses has been blocked by local regulators. Energy stocks bucked the trend with Oil Search Ltd (ASX:OSH) adding 4.28% and Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) lifting 4.21% after their recent A$21 billion merger deal.
Later in the week, investors will be closely monitoring local employment figures, with expectations of a loss of 90k jobs amid protracted lockdown conditions across the country.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 lost 85.58 points or 0.65% to 13092.89.