News: XIJ Australian shares end higher on tech rally; inflation data in focus

	  Tech, real estate stocks rally 

	  Energy stocks end higher reflecting underlying oil prices 

	  Miners and banks limit benchmark gains 

(Updates to close)

Australian shares ended higher on Monday as a rally in technology stocks offset a drag by heavyweight miners and banks on the benchmark, with investors now looking out for local inflation data.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) ended 0.1% higher at 7,076.5, after falling 0.6% earlier in the session. The benchmark declined 2.9% over the past week.

Information technology (IT) firms .AXIJ were the top gainers on the index, rising 1.9% with Xero (XRO) and Megaport (MP1) adding 2.0% and 3.3% respectively.

Brad Smoling, managing director at Smoling Stockbroking, pointed to the volatility in western tech stocks as the key driver for the rise in local IT shares.

Real estate stocks .AXRE were also among the major gainers, rising 0.9%.

Energy companies .AXEJ jumped 0.8% tracking higher oil prices. Sector major Santos (STO) ended the day 0.7% higher while Australia's largest energy oil and gas firm Woodside (WDS) gained 0.5%.

Investors now turn to the country's headline inflation figures due on Wednesday, a key data point to gauge the trajectory of rate hikes.

"Markets still believe that inflation is moving in the right direction, with markets pricing just a 50% chance of another hike by the RBA by year-end." said Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has indicated it’s unlikely to cut its key cash rate by as much in 2024 as investors had hoped earlier, dampening an already sombre investor mood.

Miners .AXMM were the top losers on the benchmark, falling 0.8%, with a plunge in prices of iron ore futures weighing on the materials sector.

Heavyweight mining giants BHP Group (BHP) , Rio Tinto (RIO) and Fortescue (FMG) dropped 0.4%, 1.2% and 1.3% respectively.

Lithium miner Allkem (AKE) , ended the day 3.3% lower after it flagged rising capital costs for some of its major projects.

Financial companies .AXFJ declined as well with all the 'Big Four' banks trading in the red.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) ended the day flat at 11,377.1 points.