Australian shares flat as gold miners' losses offset gains in banks

Gold miners dragged on Australian equities on Monday, leaving the broader market flat as bank stocks rose. The S&P/ASX 200 hovered near 9,095.40 at 0050 GMT, roughly unchanged after a 0.6% gain on Friday, according to Business Recorder.

Rate-sensitive financials climbed as much as 1.4%, putting the sector on course for its strongest session in almost four weeks. The big four lenders gained between 1.2% and 1.8%, while real estate stocks added 0.3%. Consumer price data released last week came in above expectations. That moved expectations away from the Reserve Bank of Australia holding rates steady in September and toward a 25-basis-point increase.

Gold stocks fell as much as 4.2% after Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish comments lifted bets on US rate increases and weighed on bullion. Warsh said the Fed still had work to do unless it was sure price pressures were easing back toward the 2% goal. Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining each slid more than 4%, while technology shares dropped 1%. Star Entertainment lost 3.9% after its results failed to meet market expectations, even though it reported a smaller annual loss.