Australian shares eased on Wednesday after seven days of gains, as commodity stocks lost ground on concerns about China demand, while investors globally weighed the US rate outlook ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony.
The S&P/ASX 200 index fell about 0.2% to 7,345 by 0050 GMT.
The benchmark had closed 0.9% higher on Tuesday.
Concerns about China’s uneven economic recovery grew after the country cut its benchmark loan prime rates (LPR) for the first time in 10 months on Tuesday, with a smaller-than-expected 10-basis point reduction in the five-year LPR.
Market participants are now awaiting Powell’s testimony before the US House of Representatives’ Financial Affairs Committee later in the day for further policy cues.
In Sydney, gold stocks led the laggards for the day, dropping about 2%, as bullion prices eased on account of a firmer dollar.
Sector majors Newcrest Mining and Northern Star Resources fell 2% and 2.4%, respectively.
Miners followed suit, slipping 1.4%, as iron ore prices fell in top steel producer China.
Australian shares hit 7-week high on commodity boost; RBA minutes awaited
Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals fell in the range of 0.9% to 1.9%.
Among individual stocks, TPG Telecom fell as much as 10.8% to become the top loser on the benchmark and was poised for its worst day since Aug. 19, 2022.
The drop came after the telecom company said the Australian Competition Tribunal had upheld a decision to block a network sharing agreement with wireless internet firm Telstra Group.
On the bright side, technology and healthcare stocks rose about 0.8% each.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was almost flat at 11,787 points.
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