It was the last full trading session for the ASX in 2021, and the local benchmark index closed flattish, just 0.04% higher at 7,512.

The move followed S&P 500’s 70th record close overnight, with the Dow Jones also hovering at all time highs.

Major miners led the gains today, with stocks like BHP (ASX:BHP) and Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) rising by 1% each.

COVID-19 fears continue to be top of mind for investors going into the New Year break, with cases seemingly spiralling out of control.

PM Scott Morrison is currently speaking at a press conference in Canberra, where he conveyed the national cabinet’s decision to narrow the definition of close contacts to household contacts, or “someone who has spent more than 4 hours with a confirmed case in a house”.

Another decision made by the national cabinet today was that large testing clinics could now offer PCR rapid tests for COVID-19.

BIG CAP WINNERS

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Bega Cheese (ASX:BGA) rose 3% after announcing that mining billionaire Andrew Forrest has invested a further $100m to increased his stake in Bega to 6.6%.

Forrest made his investment through his Tattarang AgriFood Investments company.

Sandfire Resources (ASX:SFR)’s US$1.865 billion acquisition of the MATSA Mining Complex has been approved by Spanish regulators.

The MATSA Mining Complex comprises three underground mining operations, and a world-class 4.7Mtpa central processing facility with state-of-the-art infrastructure.

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Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) has refuted speculations in the media regarding a a possible transaction between BOQ and Humm (ASX:HUM).

BOQ said it was not not pursuing the transaction as speculated in the media article.

The BOQ stock price was down nearly 0.75%, while Humm rose  by almost 4%.

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