After being up as many as 50 points in morning trading, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed on Monday just 3.3 points, or 0.05 per cent, higher to 7,148.9. The broader All Ordinaries rose 7.9 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 7,398.9.
"A bit disappointing, there was a little bit of a relief rally that it was not a minority government, but that positivity sort of fizzled out quite quickly," said Tribeca Investment Partners portfolio manager Jun Bei Liu.
"I think the market is just lacking confidence at the moment, given some of the consumer pressure that is going on."
The big iron ore miners were the biggest gainers as prices rose and as Labor appeared to be on the verge of being able to form a government without any help from the Greens.
Overall the sector rose 0.8 per cent, with Fortescue Metals up 2.8 per cent to $20.71, Rio Tinto climbing 1.1 per cent to $109.50 and BHP advancing 1.4 per cent to $47.83.
Codan and Elders were leading the market, with both posting double digit gains on earnings updates.
Elders was up 8.9 per cent to an all-time high of $14.92 after the agribusiness raised its interim dividend on the back of a strong half-year performance.
Favourable seasonable conditions in key cropping areas has driven demand for Elders' fertiliser and crop protection products, cattle and sheep prices are expected to remain high, and Elders' real estate division is seeing strong demand for both farmland and residential property, the company said.
"The outlook is bright for the remainder of 2022 for Elders, its shareholders and its customers," said chief executive Mark Allison.
Fruit and vegetable grower Costa Group and almond producer Select Harvests both were up, by 1.4 and 1.5 per cent, respectively.
Codan gained 14.5 per cent to $7.773 after the Adelaide-based metal detector manufacturer announced it was expecting to record a $100 million profit in fiscal 2022.
Incitec Pivot fell 3.7 per cent to $3.60 after announcing plans to spin its fertiliser business into a new company, Incitec Pivot Fertilisers, and rename itself after its mining explosive subsidiary, Dyno Nobel.
Explosives and fertiliser are both derived from ammonia nitrate, but IPL said the products are becoming increasingly specialised, so there's not much synergy between them. A separation could see the businesses re-rated by the market, it said.
Tabcorp was down 0.9 per cent to $5.34 after announcing news on its own demerger, saying the spin-off of its lottery and keno business had been approved by the federal court and would go into effect on June 1.
Shares in The Lottery Corporation will begin trading on Tuesday, initially on a deferred settlement basis.
Star Entertainment Group was up 0.3 per cent to $3.12 after naming replacements for John O'Neill, who on Friday announced he would step down ahead of his grilling by an inquiry that could cost the gaming company its NSW casino license.
Geoff Hogg, Star's interim chief casino officer for NSW and Queensland, will become interim CEO, while director Ben Heap will serve as interim chairman.
Infant formula manufacturers rose as the US military flew in 35 tonnes of baby formula from Germany following nationwide shortages. A2Milk gained 3.7 per cent, Bubs rose 2.3 per cent and Synlait Milk climbed 3.8 per cent.
All four big banks were lower, with NAB the worst-performer, falling 0.9 per cent to $30.78. ANZ was down 0.8 per cent to $25.31, Westpac dipped 0.7 per cent to $23.41 and CBA declined.
The Australian dollar meanwhile hit a two-week high against its US counterpart. The Aussie was buying 71.12 US cents, from 70.49 US cents at Friday's close.
ON THE ASX:
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished up 3.3 points, or 0.05 per cent, to close at 7,418.9 on Monday.
The All Ordinaries index climbed 7.9 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 7,398.9.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
71.12 US cents, from 70.49 US cents when the ASX closed on Monday.
90.71 Japanese yen, from 90.10 yen.
67.03 Euro cents, from 66.62 cents.
56.58 British pence, from 56.48 pence.
109.99 NZ cents, from 110.07 NZ cents.
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