Australian shares clawed back hefty early losses on Monday as investors looked past concerns about the impact of a higher US dollar and pondered the likely positive impact on exporters.
Stocks fell nearly 1 per cent in early trading after weak US inflation data painted a downbeat picture of the economy, while expectations of a rate hike kept the dollar higher, putting pressure on US exporters.
But the losses narrowed substantially as investors looked to a positive lead from Asia, where exporters hope to benefit from a more favourable foreign exchange rate.
The S&P/ASX 200 index ended down 16.8 points or 0.3 per cent at 5797.7. In the past month, the benchmark has risen 3.5 per cent, and then lost the same amount.
New Zealand’s benchmark NZX 50 index edged to an all-time closing high, gaining 2.8 points to finish the session at 5,911.4.