The ASX 200 index started the week on a dull note and was down 1.4% on Monday during the ongoing market volatility. The index closed at 6,898.5 points, marking the sixth consecutive week of losses for Australian shareholders.
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The majority of Asian markets fell on Monday, crushing hopes for stability in the equity markets after Swiss giant UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) announced the acquisition of its competitor Credit Suisse Group (NYSE:CS) in a deal worth $3.2 billion.
Senior economist at CommSec, Ryan Felsman, said, “Aussie investors will be seeing a similar pattern to what was experienced in the share market 15 years ago.”
Analysts and investors are looking forward to an interesting time ahead as they await major decisions from the Federal Reserve and the Royal Bank of Australia this week.
All the major sectors ended up in red, except materials, which gained 0.35%.
The ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index was trading 8% higher today. The gold price jumped by 6.48% in the last week and is currently trading at $1,974.6 per ounce, as investors resort to gold as a safer option.
Gold miner St. Barbara Ltd. (AU:SBM) gained more than 15%, and Gold Road Resources (AU:GOR) was up 11% on Monday. Evolution Mining (AU:EVN) also gained 10.08% in today’s trading session.
The financial and energy sectors were hit the most. Macquarie Group Ltd. (AU:MQG) lost 4.5%, while ANZ Group Holdings (AU:ANZ) lost 1.4% on Monday.
Energy companies Woodside Energy Group (AU:WDS) was down almost 3%, and Santos Ltd. (AU:STO) declined by 2.74%.
The Australia-based technology company Nuix Ltd. (AU:NXL) was the biggest loser on the ASX today after it lost 7.08% in a day. NXL shares have been under pressure for the last two weeks after the company’s former CEO, Edward Sheehy, continued his legal battle with the company.
