Aussie shares started the trading week in positive territory, after a positive lead from international markets on Friday.

Despite the modest point gain, a clear majority of sectors closed in heavily in the red, with property and consumer staples the hardest hit.

Material, energy and industrials stock were the only segments to finish above water.

The big four banks were mostly weaker on the day.

CBA (-0.2%), NAB (-0.2%) and Westpac (-0.4%) all recorded losses, while ANZ (+0.1%) was the only one of the group to gain ground.

The major miners closed sharply higher, on the back of stronger iron ore prices. BHP and Rio Tinto jumped 1.5% and 4.4% respectively.

Fisher & Paykell Appliance shares surged 30.2% after receiving an expression of interest in making a takeover offer from major shareholder Haier.

Elsewhere, Grange Resources was up 6.8% after reaffirming its CY12 production guidance of approximately 2.3 million tonnes of iron ore.

The ASX 200 added eight points (+0.2%) to settle at 4334.

Click to Receive FREE Daily Trading Recommendations!

Evening Market Analysis: Modest Gains is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog