Australian shares slipped on Thursday, dragged by banks, after lender ANZ Group reported flat first-half cash earnings and flagged margin pressures due to high interest rates and living costs.
The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.3% to 8,157.50, as of 0040 GMT.
The benchmark climbed 0.3% on Wednesday.
Financial stocks fell 0.8%, weighing the most on the benchmark.
ANZ Group declined as much as 2% to hit its lowest level since April 29, after the country’s fourth-largest lender by mortgages reported largely flat first-half cash earnings, as competition in the home loan market and a rise in asset impairments hurt its performance.
The remaining three of the ‘big four’ banks were down between 0.4% and 3.6%.
This week traders have been closely watching earnings results for Australian banks to gauge the impacts of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the local financial sector.
Energy stocks dropped 0.3% as oil prices fell on doubts that upcoming US-China trade talks will result in a breakthrough. Gold stocks were up 1.5% tracking a rise in bullion prices.
“There is no assurance on the terms of US-China trade war negotiations yet which prompts investors to continue buying into safe-haven assets like gold in such highly volatile times,” said Grady Wulff, a market analyst at Bell Direct.
Banks, miners lead Australia shares higher; NAB beats estimates
Meanwhile, in a widely expected move, the US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday but said the risks of higher inflation and unemployment had risen. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is set to meet for its two-day monetary policy meeting on May 19.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.4% to 12,547.68.
The country’s central bank said the impact from US tariffs on global supply chains could affect the country’s economy.
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