The Australian sharemarket dropped on Monday as investors rushed to the safety of bonds and gold on concerns about the escalating tension in the Middle East.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index declined 0.4 per cent or 24.5 points to 7026.5 at the closing bell. Nine out of the 11 industry sectors fell in the red, led by sharp losses in technology stocks. The All Ordinaries fell 0.4 per cent.

The federal government announced a new 31-year bond, the longest-dated bond in circulation. The indicative issue size is around $8 billion. The order book has more than $23.8 billion bids at the indicative pricing of 37 basis points to 39 basis points over futures. The book will remain open overnight with pricing expected on Tuesday.

Barrenjoey, Commonwealth Bank, JPMorgan, UBS and Westpac are joint leading the transaction due to mature in June 2054.

The information technology sector was the worst performer, tumbling 2.8 per cent. It comes as sector heavyweight WiseTech dropped 2.3 per cent to $62 share, Xero lost 3.4 per cent to $114 and NEXTDC declined 2.3 per cent to $12.28.

Meanwhile, gains in energy stocks pared some of the losses by the other sectors. Major oil producers tracked the climb in the oil price at $US91 a barrel, having leapt 5.7 per cent over the weekend, bolstered by the continuation of the Israel-Hamas war. Woodside Energy rallied 0.9 per cent to $36.06 and Karoon jumped 3.1 per cent to $2.69.

“It remains to be seen whether the energy price rally is sustained, with Brent crude oil around $US90 still well below the late September highs above $US97,” said Westpac economist Sean Callow in a note to clients.

Gold stocks were among the best performers, Regis Resources advanced 5.8 per cent to $1.63 and Perseus Mining added 4.4 per cent to $1.645. The safe haven, having had its best week in seven months, was little changed fetching $US1921.70 on Monday.

In company news, global lithium giant Albemarle has abandoned its $6.6 billion bid for Liontown Resources at $3 per share. Liontown requested that its shares be placed on hold while it reviews its Kathleen Valley Project funding.

Fletcher Building was the worst-performing stock on the ASX 200. Shares plunged 8.6 per cent to $4.07 after the company came out of a trading halt.

Westpac slipped 0.8 per cent to $21.31 after Ampol chairman Steven Gregg was appointed chairman-elect of Westpac. Gregg is succeeding John McFarlane, who has been chairman since 2020.

Qantas dropped 2.4 per cent to $4.90. Loyalty chief executive Olivia Wirth has resigned from her position.

Magellan Global Fund rallied 4.2 per cent to $1.75 after Magellan Asset Management has announced its intention to convert the Magellan Global Fund’s closed class units to open class units in aid of narrowing its discount to the net asset value.

Treasury Wine Estates rose 1.3 per cent to $11.59. The winemaker said trading in the September quarter was in-line with the group’s expectations, with consumers buying at the upper-end of the wine segment not cutting back.

SkyCity Entertainment fell 2.4 per cent to $1.815 following the announcement that chief executive Michael Ahearne will step down from his role early next year. Ahearne has been CEO since November 2020.

Iron ore futures on the Singapore exchange traded higher, up 1.2 per cent to $US115.65 a tonne on the November contract. BHP Group rose 0.4 per cent to $45.18.