SYDNEY, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The Australian market finished lower on Monday, with pressure from oil prices weighing heavy on the energy sector.
At the close of trade, the S&P/ASX 200 index was down 18.30 points or 0.32 percent at 5,757.30, while the broader All Ordinaries index slipped 16.60 points of 0.29 percent at 5,794.60.
"We experienced some modest losses today, after the market was up 0.8 percent last week," Commsec market analyst Steven Daghlian told Xinhua.
"Energy stocks were hit quite hard because oil prices have fallen to three month lows, but across the index, the losses were quite evenly shared through the sectors."
On a day with not a lot of positive news for investors, gold stocks managed to perform well and were the big stand out.
The commonwealth Bank slipped 0.24 percent, National Australia Bank edged lower at 0.06 percent, Westpac was flat at 0.00 percent, and ANZ was down 0.19 percent.
BHP Billiton edged lower at 0.08 percent, Rio Tinto lost 0.32 percent, Fortescue Metals added 0.66 and Newcrest surged 4.63 percent.
Woodside Petroleum slid 1.06 percent, Santos dropped 1.67 and Oil Search lost 2.31 percent.
Wesfarmers slipped 0.36 percent and Woolworths fell 0.19 percent.
Qantas shares climbed 1.84 percent, Telstra lifted 0.22 percent, while CSL finished lower at 0.93 percent.
