AIRLINK 62.48 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (3.39%)
BOP 5.36 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.19%)
CNERGY 4.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.43%)
DFML 15.50 Increased By ▲ 0.66 (4.45%)
DGKC 66.40 Increased By ▲ 1.60 (2.47%)
FCCL 17.59 Increased By ▲ 0.73 (4.33%)
FFBL 27.70 Increased By ▲ 2.95 (11.92%)
FFL 9.27 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (2.32%)
GGL 10.06 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1%)
HBL 105.70 Increased By ▲ 1.49 (1.43%)
HUBC 122.30 Increased By ▲ 4.78 (4.07%)
HUMNL 6.60 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.92%)
KEL 4.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-1.1%)
KOSM 4.48 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.97%)
MLCF 36.20 Increased By ▲ 0.79 (2.23%)
OGDC 122.92 Increased By ▲ 0.53 (0.43%)
PAEL 23.00 Increased By ▲ 1.09 (4.97%)
PIAA 29.34 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (7.51%)
PIBTL 5.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-2.36%)
PPL 107.50 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.12%)
PRL 27.25 Increased By ▲ 0.74 (2.79%)
PTC 18.07 Increased By ▲ 1.97 (12.24%)
SEARL 53.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.63 (-1.17%)
SNGP 63.21 Increased By ▲ 2.01 (3.28%)
SSGC 10.80 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.47%)
TELE 9.20 Increased By ▲ 0.71 (8.36%)
TPLP 11.44 Increased By ▲ 0.86 (8.13%)
TRG 70.86 Increased By ▲ 0.95 (1.36%)
UNITY 23.62 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.47%)
WTL 1.28 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 6,944 Increased By 65.8 (0.96%)
BR30 22,827 Increased By 258.6 (1.15%)
KSE100 67,142 Increased By 594.3 (0.89%)
KSE30 22,090 Increased By 175.1 (0.8%)
Markets

Banks, miners drive Australian shares lower ahead of GDP data

  • The economy was likely already slowing before wide-scale COVID-19 restrictions shuttered swathes of business and jobs
Published September 1, 2021

Australian shares dropped on Wednesday, weighed down by banks and miners, as investors anticipated a sharp slowdown in economic growth ahead of June-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data.

The economy was likely already slowing before wide-scale COVID-19 restrictions shuttered swathes of business and jobs, setting the stage for a vicious contraction this quarter, a Reuters poll showed.

Data released on Tuesday showed the country's current account surplus widened to a record high in the June quarter, due to booming prices for some key commodity exports, notably iron ore, and strong demand from China.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.8% to 7,474.9 by 0037 GMT, retreating from a two-week closing high marked on Tuesday.

Heavyweight financials dropped 0.6%, with all the "Big Four" banks - Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and Westpac Banking Corp - shedding between 0.1% and 1.1%.

Miners were weighed down by a drop iron ore prices, with Rio Tinto Ltd and BHP Group Ltd declining 1.7% and 1%, respectively.

Healthcare stocks also slipped, with sector giant CSL Ltd dropping 0.7%. Mesoblast fell for a second straight day after the biotechnology company said its annual attributable loss widened to $98.8 million.

Technology stocks fell, with buy now, pay later giant Afterpay Ltd and aerial imagery firm Nearmap shedding 1.4% and 0.9%, respectively.

Meanwhile, gold stocks nudged 0.1% higher, benefiting from an overnight rise in bullion prices.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was down 0.2% at 13,195.36. Cancer diagnostics firm Pacific Edge Ltd was the top loser on the index.

Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.9%, while S&P 500 E-minis futures climbed 0.1%.

Comments

Comments are closed.