Aussie shares finish flat as dollar hits a 13-month low

The local share market staged a late comeback to finish the day basically flat, while the local currency has slid to a more than one-year low.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Monday gained 2.1 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 8,423.0, while the broader All Ordinaries dipped 2.3 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 8,687.0.

The Australian dollar meanwhile had fallen below 64 US cents for the first time since November 2023, buying 63.88 US cents near 5pm AEDT, down from 64.29 US cents at the same time Friday.

NAB senior economist Taylor Nugent said that the Aussie had been the worst-performing G10 currency last week with a fall of 1.9 per cent, and it had not helped by the softer-than-expected domestic gross domestic product figures released on Wednesday.

That soft GDP readout has brought forward expectations for when the Reserve Bank might begin cutting rates, with the market now expecting a cut by April instead of May, according to IG analyst Tony Sycamore.

In addition, a better-than-expected US non-farm payrolls report released Friday night boosted the greenback, while weak Chinese economic data is also weighing on the Aussie, Mr Sycamore said.

It's crucial for the Aussie to remain above support at 63.70 to 63.50 US cents, otherwise it risks a decline to its 62.70 low from October 2023 or its 61.70 low of October 2022, Mr Sycamore said.

As for the ASX, it had been down by as much as 0.5 per cent in morning trading but gained ground most of the afternoon to finish on the highs of the day.

Seven sectors finished higher, utilities was flat and energy, materials and tech closed lower.

The energy sector was the biggest mover, dropping 1.1 per cent as Woodside dipped 1.1 per cent and Santos retreated 0.8 per cent as Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest crude oil exporter, cut prices to Asian buyers to a three-year low.

In the financial sector, ANZ suffered its biggest drop in four weeks after the bank named an outsider as its next CEO.

Former HSBC executive Nuno Matos will start in the role when Shayne Elliott retires in July.

ANZ fell 3.6 per cent to $30.03, while CBA rose 1.5 per cent to $159.38, Westpac added 0.3 per cent to $32.87 and NAB dipped 0.2 per cent to $38.73.

Elsewhere in the sector, Platinum Asset Management fell 14.4 per cent to an all-time low of 89.5 cents and Regal Partners dropped 5.5 per cent to a three-week low of $3.78 after Regal decided not to pursue a takeover of Platinum following a period of due diligence.

Regal didn't say why, but E&P analyst Olivier Coulon said he suspected it had to do with the continued outflows of Platinum's funds under management since Regal's initial approach in September.

In the heavyweight mining sector, BHP dropped 0.3 per cent to $40.59, Fortescue diminished 1.2 per cent to $19.25 and Rio Tinto dipped 0.2 per cent to $119.49.

ON THE ASX:

* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Monday gained 2.1 points, or 0.02 per cent, at 8,423.0

* The broader All Ordinaries dropped 2.3 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 8,687

CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:

One Australian dollar buys:

* 63.88 US cents, from 64.29 US cents at Friday's ASX close

* 95.77 Japanese yen, from 96.45 Japanese yen

* 60.59 euro cents, from 60.82 euro cents

* 50.19 British pence, from 50.46 pence

* 109.90 NZ cents, from 109.78 NZ cents