Australia’s sharemarket begins week on a high: S&P/ASX 200 closes up 0.48%; check top gainers and losers and which were the best-performing sectors

Market Overview - The sharemarket opened positively, influenced by an upbeat Wall Street session and higher oil prices, with gains led by financials, consumer discretionary, and energy stocks [1] - The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.8% to 8,785.90 points, recovering from a 0.1% decline last week [2] Sector Performance - Financials advanced by 1.2%, recovering from a 2.5% decline the previous week due to concerns over potential rate hikes and market competition [2][8] - Consumer discretionary was the best-performing sector, gaining 2.12% and 3.01% over the past five days [7][10] - Energy stocks increased by 1.2%, driven by higher oil prices amid geopolitical tensions [8] Top Gainers - Light & Wonder Inc. (LNW) led the top performers, closing at $182.500, up $27.800, a gain of 17.970% [3][9] - Catapult Sports Ltd (CAT) rose to $4.410, gaining $0.270 or 6.521% [3][9] - Other notable gainers included Ramelius Resources Limited (RMS), Newmont Corporation (NEM), and Pantoro Gold Limited (PNR) [9] Notable Declines - Mesoblast Limited (MSB) was among the weakest performers, closing at $2.850, down $0.220 or 7.167% [5][10] - Super Retail Group Limited (SUL) fell to $14.890, down $0.830 or 5.280% [5][10] - Additional losses were seen in DroneShield Limited (DRO), Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG), and BHP Group Limited (BHP) [6][10] Mining Sector - The mining sector slipped by 0.1%, impacted by a 1% decline in BHP due to rising iron ore inventories at Chinese ports [9][10]