Australian shares flat as gold miners' losses offset gains in banks

Australian equities remained flat on Monday as gains in banks were counterbalanced by sharp losses in gold stocks, which plummeted following hawkish comments from US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh. The S&P/ASX 200 index hovered around 9,095.40, unchanged as of 0050 GMT. The benchmark had closed 0.6% higher on Friday. Financials, sensitive to interest rates, saw a rise of up to 1.4%, positioning the sector for its best session in nearly four weeks. The "big four" banks gained between 1.2% and 1.8%, while real estate stocks increased by 0.3%.

Consumer price data from the previous week revealed higher-than-expected inflation, prompting investors to adjust their expectations for the Reserve Bank of Australia's September meeting, anticipating a 25-basis-point rate hike. Mining stocks, including BHP Group and Rio Tinto, experienced declines of 1.3% and 1%, respectively, as their gold exposure suffered.

Gold stocks plummeted by as much as 4.2%, marking their worst session in over a month and contributing to the broader losses on the benchmark index. Bullion prices declined due to reactions to Warsh's remarks.

At the Fed's annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Warsh emphasized that the US central bank would need "work to do" if policymakers were uncertain about inflation returning to its 2% target. Mining stocks, particularly gold miners, faced significant losses, with Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining each down over 4%. Northern Star announced the appointment of Phillip Coetzer as acting chief financial officer. Technology stocks followed, falling by 1%, mirroring the negative trend in their US counterparts.

Star Entertainment experienced a decline of 3.9% after falling short of market expectations, despite reporting a reduced annual loss. In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 index gained 0.3%, reaching 13,804.78.