Australian shares fell on Friday amid broad-based losses as sentiment remained dampened after US economic data confirmed the case for more rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.3% to 7,385.70 points by 2346 GMT, after climbing 0.8% on Thursday. Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei was up 0.7% and S&P 500 E-minis futures were down 0.3%.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, while another set of US data showed highest rise in producer prices in seven months in January, indicating a stubborn inflation.
Back in Australia, the governor of the country’s central bank said more rate hikes would be needed in the months ahead to ensure inflation returns to the target range.
Australian stocks rise as miners, financial shares rally
Domestic technology stocks slumped 2.3%, leading the fall on the benchmark and falling in-line with their overseas peers. Sector majors Block Inc and Xero Ltd shed 6.8% and 4.3%, respectively.
Financials slipped 0.2%, with all “Big Four” posting a decline.
Westpac fell 0.2%. The bank said on Friday its common equity Tier-1 ratio in the first quarter fell sequentially as it increased provisions for bad debts.
Energy stocks dropped 1.2% as oil prices settled slightly lower on Thursday, with heavyweights Woodside Energy Group and Santos declining 1.1% and 1.3%, respectively.
Miners too fell 0.2%, after initially gaining in the early trades.
Sector giants BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group, however, climbed between 1% and 1.3%.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.3% to 12,125.15.
Comments
Comments are closed.