Aussie shares slip, but round out fifth positive month

The top-200 rose 1.11 per cent over August and has recovered 6.8 per cent since a sharp fall in March when the Iran war sent share prices tumbling as crude prices surged.

In a flurry of apparent month-end portfolio rebalancing, the beaten-down financials segment rallied on Monday but ended the month almost six per cent lower, while raw materials stocks sold off but were up 11.6 per cent over the same period.

Investors regularly rebalance their portfolios by selling winning trades and buying underperformers to take profits while positioning for potential upswings.

The Australian dollar is buying 71.66 US cents, down from 71.99 US cents on Friday at 5pm.