Australian shares closed nearly half a percent lower on Monday, dragged by heavyweight mining stocks, as cautious investors eyed US inflation data to get clues on the Federal Reserve’s policy stance at its meeting later this week.
The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.5% lower at 7,180.80.
The benchmark ended 0.5% higher on Friday.
The US inflation data is due on Tuesday, and any signs of sticky inflation could alter the Fed’s view on dialling back of its aggressive policy tightening.
Analysts widely expect a 50 basis point hike on Thursday, down from a string of exceptionally outsized 75 basis point hikes over the past four meetings.
Henry Jennings, a senior analyst and portfolio manager at Marcustoday Financial Newsletter, said the market hopes to get a bit of a pause from the Fed over the Christmas break.
Miners fell 1.7%, with index heavyweights Rio Tinto , Fortescue Metals Group and BHP Group losing between 0.7% and 1.5%.
Gold stocks fell 3.2%, making them the top percentage losers on the benchmark, as gold prices inched lower.
Newcrest Mining and Northern Star Resources fell 3.4% and 3.1%, respectively.
Financials advanced 0.2%, pushed by a 0.4% jump in Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Tyro Payments slumped 19.5% after rejecting a fresh A$875 million ($592.64 million) proposal from Potentia Capital and ceasing talks with Westpac.
Local energy stocks jumped 1.2% as oil prices rose after a key Canada-United States crude pipeline stayed shut and Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to cut oil production.
Australian shares climb on boost from miners
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday said the country will cap coal and gas prices for a year to cut utility bills for households and businesses hit by soaring prices.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.8% to finish the session at 11,506.45.
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