SYDNEY, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The Australian share market fell by 1.4 percent in early trading on Monday as oil prices continued to rise.
The S&P/ASX 200 fell by 1.4 percent in the first hour of trade on Monday to 8,397 points at 11 a.m. Australian Eastern Daylight Time (0000 GMT) from 8,516.3 points at the close on Friday.
As of Monday morning, the benchmark index was down around 8.7 percent over the last month.
It comes as global oil prices approached 120 U.S. dollars per barrel amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that the financial and healthcare sectors were hit particularly hard by the fall on Monday morning. ■
