The ASX 200 closed almost flat at 8,808 on Monday, with strength in communications, finance, and energy minerals offsetting weakness in tech, industrials, and consumer stocks. The local market pulled back from the prior session’s gains as traders positioned for a heavy week of catalysts, including U.S. inflation data and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s testimony, alongside June trade performance and Q2 GDP releases in main trading partner China. Locally, July consumer and business confidence will also be due in the coming days. Mining names eased ahead of quarterly updates, with BHP (-0.1%) and Rio Tinto (-0.3%) inching lower, while tech lagged on sharp falls in Xero (-4.5%) and WiseTech (-2.1%). Gold miners also slipped, led by Northern Star (-2.6%) and Evolution (-1.6%). In contrast, Woodside Energy rose 0.9% as oil prices climbed on renewed Middle East tensions after fresh U.S. strikes on Iran. The big four banks added between 0.3% and 1.3%, lending support to the broader index.