October 26, 2021 - 1:32 PM Updated
By Tejaswi Marthi
(Reuters) - Australian shares closed unchanged on Tuesday as gains in tech stocks were countered by declines among gold and energy sectors due to a fall in commodity prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 index ended up 0.03% at 7,443.4.
The gold sub-index was down 0.8%, tracking lower gold prices after an uptick in U.S. dollar and bond yields.
Regis Resources led losses on the sub-index after falling as much as 7% after its September-quarter gold production and sales missed analysts' estimates.
The energy sub-index fell 0.5%, with Whitehaven Coal and Oil Search leading losses on the index, sliding 4.2% and 1.3%, respectively.
Dalian coking coal and coke futures moved in and out of positive territory after top consumer China said it would tame surging prices of coal amid tight supply in the region.
Besides, concerns loomed that the approaching La Nia pattern that usually delivers harsh winters could further worsen Asia's energy crisis, said Hina Chowdhary, Director of Research, Kalkine Group.
Tech stocks rose 1.3% with gains led by Codan and Megaport jumping 3.7% and 3.9%, respectively while buy-now-pay-later heavyweight Afterpay was up 3.3%.
"Investors are expected to assess how tech firms are mitigating labour shortages, supply bottlenecks and inflationary pressures to sustain growth," she added.
Tech stocks took cues from Wall Street, where Dow Industrials and S&P 500 closed at record highs overnight.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.1% to 13,075.41, with consumer and healthcare stocks leading losses on the index. (Reporting by Tejaswi Marthi in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)

Sumber : Reuters