The Australian sharemarket nudged higher on Monday led by the technology sector and a rebound in Mineral Resources.

The S&P/ASX 200 ended up 0.1 per cent, or 10.2 points, to 8221.5, having traded in a tight range as traders await a key inflation data report on Wednesday for clues on the timing of the first interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank.

Traders attach a one-in-three chance of a move by December. The All Ordinaries also firmed 0.1 per cent on Monday. Of the ASX’s 11 sectors, six finished higher, led by tech stocks that were buoyed by gains on the Nasdaq.

Under pressure

Five of the Magnificent Seven report earnings this week, with Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Amazon expected to post double-digit earnings growth fuelled by ad spending.

On the ASX, WiseTech edged up 0.9 per cent to $113 after billionaire founder chief executive Richard White resigned last week following damaging accusations about his personal life. The shares have slumped 17 per cent in October, its largest monthly decline in a year.

Mineral Resources, another stock under pressure, rebounded 1.2 per cent to $34.53 amid news that early next week it will release the outcome of its investigation into an alleged tax evasion scheme linked to its billionaire founder and managing director Chris Ellison.

“It is regrettable, but it’s not an ongoing issue, unlike the troubles of WiseTech,” said Hugh Dive, chief investment officer of Atlas Funds Management. “The positive is that it strengthens the corporate governance of MinRes.”

Mr Dive favours Mr Ellison to stay at the helm because he is the “best person to do it, having built it from nothing”. Atlas took advantage of MinRes’ recent share dip to add to its position.

Stocks on the move

Monday was the first day of gain for the shares after 11 sessions of losses. It’s still on course for a 33 per cent slide this month – its biggest losing streak in nearly two decades.

The broader mining sector was also demand, with BHP jumping 1.3 per cent to $42.96 and Rio Tinto advancing 1.7 per cent to $120.12. Fortescue leapt 2.2 per cent to $19.41, buoyed by a rally in iron ore prices after Chinese authorities launched fresh stimulus on Monday to support credit flow ahead of trillions of yuan in loans maturing before Christmas.

Energy stocks retreated, tracking a tumble in oil prices after Israel’s weekend strikes over Iran were less severe than initially thought.

Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate shaved off more than 4 per cent to $US72.54 and $US68.37 respectively. Beach Energy shed 0.4 per cent to $1.265 and Santos shaved off 0.6 per cent to $6.89.

In corporate news, ANZ slipped 0.8 per cent to $31.45 after flagging a $196 million one-off charge to statutory profit due to its Suncorp acquisition.

Paladin Energy plunged 15 per cent to $10.36 and was the biggest laggard after warning that its proposed acquisition of Toronto-listed Fission Uranium was still awaiting approval by Canadian regulators and could be turned down. It was Paladin’s biggest one-day drop in over a year.