The Australian sharemarket ended Monday's session almost unchanged, with the S&P/ASX 200 closing marginally higher by 0.07 per cent at 7675.8 points, driven by late-session recovery but still witnessing losses in the real estate sector due to caution surrounding the Reserve Bank of Australia's upcoming decisions. Meanwhile, mining stocks saw modest gains fuelled by rebounding iron ore prices and positive data on China's industrial output, with Southern Cross Media Group considering options amidst a proposed buyout bid, and DigitalX tapping investors for $5.3 million despite a subsequent slip in shares after being reinstated.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 25 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 13 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 77.75 points.
The SPI futures are up 11 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Financials, up 0.56 per cent. The worst-performing sector was REITs, down 1.98 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY), closing 6.33 per cent higher at $6.55. It was followed by shares in South32 (ASX:S32) and IGO (ASX:IGO).
The worst-performing large cap was Worley (ASX:WOR), closing 1.33 per cent lower at $16.29. It was followed by shares in Fortescue (ASX:FMG) and TPG Telecom (ASX:TPG).
Asian markets
Japan's Nikkei has gained 2.35 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has gained 0.06 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has lost 0.96 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2,150.80 an ounce.
Iron ore is 4 per cent lower at US$100.20 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 0.4 per cent fall.
Light crude is trading $0.35 higher at US$81.39 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 65.63 US cents.
