A top Australian central banker on Monday said stress in the global banking system was mainly confined to a small number of poorly managed banks and was just one of many considerations for domestic monetary policy. Investors are now focused on the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting later this week, where economists are widely expecting a 25 basis point interest rate hike, according to a Reuters Poll. Financials fell about 1.5%, with all the 'Big Four' banks in the red. Local tech stocks tracked Friday's losses of their Wall Street peers, shedding 1.6%. ASX-listed shares of Block Inc and Xero Ltd dipped 1.5% and 0.8%, respectively. On the other hand, gold stocks soared 7.6%, posting their biggest intraday gain in about 3 years, on higher bullion prices. Shares of Newcrest Mining and Northern Star Resources advanced 6.1% and 6.6%, respectively. Separately, shares of Healius Ltd jumped 5.4% after receiving a A$1.52 billion takeover offer from Australian Clinical Labs .
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.7% to 11,640.43.
($1 = 1.4896 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Echha Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
U.S. earnings diary Wall Street Week Ahead Global Economy Week Ahead ................................................................ For latest top breaking news across all markets ))
