Australian stock market fell for the fifth consecutive trading day as US-Iran negotiations stalled, dampening risk appetite.

The Australian stock market closed modestly lower on Monday for the fifth consecutive trading day, as concerns about the stalled US-Iran peace talks prolonging the interruption of Middle East energy supplies dampened risk appetite. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.2% to 8,766.40 points, following a 1.8% decline the previous week. On Saturday, the US canceled its envoy's planned trip to Islamabad for talks with Iran, stating that Tehran had "put forward many conditions but they weren't enough", as the two sides have long-standing disagreements on potential peace agreement terms. Although the stalled negotiations were the catalyst for the subdued performance of the Australian S&P/ASX 200 index, "the real pressure comes from the deadly combination of unresolved geopolitical, stubborn inflation, and currency policy uncertainties, which make it difficult to find clear support points," according to market analyst Hebe Chen from Vantage Markets. Since the Middle East conflict erupted on February 28, the benchmark index has dropped over 4.5%. Financial stocks were the biggest drag on Monday, falling 0.5%, with three of the so-called Big Four banks declining between 0.1% and 1%. The energy sector index fell 1.9%, despite a nearly 2% increase in oil prices, as analysts noted profit-taking after the sector surged over 4% in the past two trading days. Origin Energy plummeted 5%, after reporting a 17% drop in third-quarter revenue from its Australian Pacific liquefied natural gas project. The mining sector was the only one to rise, gaining 0.7% for its best single-day performance since April 15. Heavyweight stock BHP rose 0.6%, while the gold sector index surged 1.6%, supported by a weaker US dollar boosting gold prices.