ASX down amid Israel-Gaza war anxiety; gold and oil big winners

There was cautious trading to kick off the week as investors monitor news of the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.

The S & P/ASX200 closed lower on Monday, largely due to the fallout from the Israel-Gaza war in the Middle East

The Australian market dropped 24.50 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 7026.50, with a dip in industrials and technology, down 1.8 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively.

CommSec economist Tom Piotrowski told Sky News the conflict is having “an acute impact.”

“We saw the US dollar move substantially higher at the end of last week,” he said.

“We saw a very significant move higher where oil prices were concerned as well on Friday – they rose very substantially.

“This is very much seen through the lens of what’s going on in the Middle East.”

Oil is sitting above $US90 a barrel with anxiety for the potential for the conflict to spill out into neighbouring Arab nations.

The S & P/ASX200 closed lower Monday, dropping 24.50 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 7026.50. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

On the ASX, consumer cyclicals fell 1 per cent, academic and educational services and real estate suffered a 0.7 per cent loss each, financials were down 0.6 per cent and utilities down 0.5 per cent.

Fletcher Building the day’s worst performer, shedding 8.6 per cent by the end of trade, with water flow and control company Reliance Worldwide Corporation and Telix Pharmaceuticals each dropping 4.6 per cent.

On the other side of the coin, energy and basic materials had some slight gains – up 0.6 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively.

Healthcare and consumer non-cyclicals were flat.

Mid-tier gold company Regis Resources came out 5.8 per cent ahead, and fellow gold industry producer West African Resources finished up 4.9 per cent.