Australian shares have clawed back some losses on Monday after losing ground for weeks due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
By lunchtime the ASX 200 was up 1.2 per cent to 7,147. It stayed at this level all afternoon and finished marginally higher at 7,150.
The All Ordinaries gained a similar amount to finish at 7,422.
The top-performing stocks on the benchmark included Elders and Pendal, up 11 per cent and 6.7 per cent respectively.
Elders gained ground as the agribusiness company said its financial year 2022 results were forecast to be better than market expectations.
A company with lithium interests, Silver Lake, gained 1.9 per cent after announcing it had taken a 5 per cent interest in several exploration projects.
The company heading up those projects, Global Lithium Resources, rose 6.6 per cent.
Magellan was down 5.6 per cent in the mid-morning as the fund manager reported that the amount under its management had dropped 10.5 per cent to $69 billion. Its losses softened to 1.4 per cent by end of day.
The fund's stock has been diving since July, when its performance woes started to become headline news.
Paladin was the biggest loser on the benchmark index in early afternoon trade, with a loss of 7.5 per cent.
The ASX 200 closed down on Friday and is 4 per cent lower today than it was a year ago.
Several states and territories in Australia had public holidays on Monday, which means trading could have been lower than normal.
More buyers come forward for Probuild
ASX-listed company SRG Global is snapping up Probuild's assets in Western Australia.
SRG Global is taking the Western Australian arm out of voluntary administration for the price tag of $15.2 million.
That will assure employment for 275 workers.
SRG Global's stock gained 5.6 per cent.
The purchase follows an announcement last week by administrators Deloitte that NSW construction firm Roberts Co will also buy the failed building giant's operations in Victoria.
That leaves arms of the company in NSW and Queensland still in limbo.
The administrators' first report was delayed after Deloitte's lawyers described it as "nightmarish".
European markets recover some losses
The price of brent dropped 2.7 per cent, as global markets continue to grapple with rising petrol costs.
Russia is the world's second biggest oil exporter, with supply in limbo as it wages war on Ukraine.
The ASX's good fortunes today came after Europe also recovered some losses at the end of last week's trade.
The DAX gained 1.4 per cent while the FTSE was up 0.8 per cent.
Wall Street, however, finished its week on losses, with a drop of 2.2 per cent on the tech-heavy Nasdaq and less severe pains on the S&P 500 and Dow Jones.
At 1:00pm AEDT, Dow Jones futures were up, along with those in the other two benchmarks.
Key factors to watch on Wall Street this week will be whether the US federal reserve raises rates, along with the ongoing impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war, and crude oil prices.
US markets analyst David Bassanese said his "growing concern" was the US economy's performance.
"The still upbeat US earnings outlook could be the next shoe to drop," he said.
"Especially given the squeeze on real incomes from higher inflation and multiple Fed rate hikes ahead.
Russia's central bank has decided not to reopen stock market trading on the Moscow Exchange from March 14 to 18, with the exception of some non-open-market transactions and transactions using the SPFI payment system.
The Russian market has been closed for weeks as the country's invasion of Ukraine continues.
ABC/wires
