Australian shares fell on Thursday, as miners dragged due to subdued commodity prices and airline Qantas hit a more than one-month low, while uncertainty over the pace of interest rate hikes by central banks also weighed on sentiment.
The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.2% to 7,298.5 by 2355 GMT, its third straight session of losses. The benchmark closed 0.3% lower on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, central banks of Australia and New Zealand, have signalled more rate hikes for the upcoming future to tame inflation while maintaining a hawkish stance during their meetings.
Australian shares hit over one-month low as miners drag, Fed rate hike fears weigh
Also, recent strong U.S. economic data had investors worried about aggressive interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
Australia’s biggest airline Qantas fell more than 5% despite the company reporting a record profit as it rebounded from five straight half-year losses.
Miners became the biggest laggard on the index, falling 1.6% as iron-ore prices were restrained after China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) adjusted trading limits for certain contracts.
Behemoths BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals toppled between 2.4% and 0.3%.
Gold stocks slid 1.4%, after bullion fell as the U.S. dollar strengthened.
Sector heavyweight Newcrest Mining slumped 1.3%.
Energy stocks chased oil prices lower to fall 0.6%, with sector major Woodside energy and Santos trailing 1.1% and 1.5%, respectively.
Financials, however, rose 0.3%, with the “big four” banks gaining between 0.1% and 0.5%.
The healthcare index rose 0.8%, after Ramsay Healthcare soared more than 4% on upbeat results and outlook.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.4% to 11,839.14, after falling 0.1% on Wednesday as the Reserve bank of New Zealand hiked interest rates to a more than 14-year high of 4.75%.
Among individual stocks, Air New Zealand fell more than 2%, after flagging macro and inflation risks.
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