Australian shares were flat with a positive bias on Monday's close as investors prepare for potential volatility in the coming month.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index changed little to close at 8,447.9.

President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday threatened BRICS member countries with 100% tariffs if they tried to replace the United States Dollar, Reuters reported.

"There'll be two drivers of market volatility this month. The first remains the impact of Trump, especially future fiscal settings and, increasingly, looming trade wars," said Capital.com senior financial markets analyst Kyle Rodda.

"The second is what the U.S. Federal Reserve does with policy this month," Rodda added, as quoted by Reuters.

"If the Fed delivers (a cut) and provides sufficiently dovish guidance, it may green light some sort of 'Santa Rally'," Rodda stated.

In domestic news, Australian job ads slid in November, with the ANZ-Indeed Australian Job Ads falling 1.3% month on month, compared with an upwardly revised 0.7% climb in October, the financial services firm said in a report.

Australian retail trade inched up 0.6% in October to AU$36.7 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis from AU$36.5 billion in September, according to a report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

In a separate filing, the statistics bureau said that the total number of dwellings approved in Australia rose 4.2% month on month in October to 15,498, following a 5.8% increase in September.

In corporate news, Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) signed a deal to acquire De Grey Mining (ASX:DEG) via a scheme of arrangement. As per the deal, shareholders will receive 0.119 Northern Star shares per one De Grey share held, implying a valuation of AU$5 billion.

Northern Star Resources' shares were down 5% at market close while De Grey Mining's shares surged 30% on close to reach their highest since 2008.

Metcash (ASX:MTS) reported earnings of AU$0.129 per share for the first half of fiscal 2025, down from AU$0.145 per share in the year-earlier period. The company's shares rose past 2% at market close.

Regional Express Holdings (ASX:REX) completed the sale of Air Partner's 50% stake in National Jet Express on Nov. 22.