The Australian share market finished session lower on Monday, 18 January 2021, as risk aversion selloff triggered on tracking soft lead from Wall Street last Friday. Meanwhile, the emergence of new COVID-19 cases in New South Wales over the weekend also dented sentiment.
At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 fell 52.40 points, or 0.78%, to 6,663.04. The broader All Ordinaries dropped 51.43 points, or 0.74%, to 6,935.36.
Losses were led by underperformance from resources, particularly materials which slid most on caution ahead of quarterly production numbers from the mining giants over the next two days.
Financials were also among the larger decliners in line with a risk-off sentiment amid worries over rising coronavirus cases in the New South Wales state.