Market Wrap / M&A Monday

The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8% to 7854.10 points this Monday, following a positive session on Wall Street and a set of data from China. 

The miners gained ground with Mineral Resources leading the pack up 11.6%.

However, the iron ore futures took a beating after poorer property prices in China. It did not stop BHP from enjoying positive market sentiment and climbing 2.4%. 

Gold players benefited from gold's historic rise beyond US$3,000 an ounce. Ramelius Resources lost 0.9% despite announcing the acquisition of all Spartan's shares that it doesn't already own. Spartan Resources rose by 9.1%.

In the energy sector, Woodside leaped 1.9% on a long-term agreement with China Resources Gas International to supply LNG.

Among the big four banks, only NAB was lower as CFO Nathan Goonan resigned to join rival Westpac. NAB fell 0.2%.

Tonight, investors will look at US retail data in anticipation of the FOMC rate decision later this week. Locally, Reece and Seek are trading ex-dividend tomorrow.