Australian shares fell on Friday, tracking weakness in Wall Street indices overnight, with healthcare stocks losing the most, while heavyweight miners also slipped on lower iron ore and copper prices. The S&P/ASX 200 index slid 0.4% to 8,441.6, as of 0010 GMT.
The benchmark closed 0.2% higher on Thursday. Overnight, US stocks ended lower, with UnitedHealth down sharply and technology shares easing as investors awaited Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report, which could be key in gauging the Federal Reserve’s interest rate trajectory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 248.33 points, or 0.55%, to 44,765.71.
The S&P 500 lost 0.19% while Nasdaq also slipped 0.18%. The S&P 500 healthcare index also fell 1.1%. Back in Sydney, healthcare stocks lost as much as 1.4% in their biggest intraday drop in nearly three weeks.
Cochlear and CSL, two of the country’s priciest stocks, fell 1%, each. Heavyweight mining stocks fell 0.7%.
Sector major BHP Group fell 0.4%, while peers Rio Tinto and Fortescue retreated 1%, each.
Australian shares inch higher as banks counter mining and energy losses
Mineral sands producer Iluka Resources dropped 7.6% and was the top loser on the benchmark index, despite receiving an additional A$400 million ($257.96 million) in funding from the Australian government for its Eneabba rare earths refinery in Western Australia.
Gold stocks declined 0.7% as bullion fell.
Energy stocks also retreated 0.9% after oil prices fell, as investors weighed ample supply outlook for next year against OPEC+ delaying its planned output increase.
Technology stocks, which ended at their highest level since April 2000 on Thursday, fell 0.6%. Rate-sensitive financial stocks inched up 0.1%.
Data showed earlier this week the Australian economy in the third quarter grew at the slowest annual pace since the pandemic.
Investors now await the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate decision next week. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.3% to 12,861.08.
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