A rout in local technology stocks, in line with a global sell-off, pressured Australian shares which ended at their lowest in two weeks, with sharp declines in heavyweight mining and banking indexes further weighing on the benchmark.
The S&P/ASX 200 index finished 1.3% lower to 7,861.20 points, with all sectors ending in the red. The benchmark is driving further away from its all-time high of 8,083.70 points scaled last week.
The sharp sell-off in tech giants in the United States after lacklustre earnings trickled down to riskier local assets especially with companies exposed to artificial intelligence and business in United States.
“Profit taking in some of the expensive growth names is having an influence on risk sentiment in Australia,” Andrew Tang, an investment strategist from Morgans Financial said.
Local technology firms bore the brunt of dull investor confidence, losing 2.7% and marked its lowest close since late June.
Australian shares drifts lower, tracking Wall Street
“Our market has been pumped up on the back of AI (artificial intelligence) and the tech trade in the U.S. and it’s inevitable when that unwinds, we will unwind as well,” Henry Jennings, a senior market analyst from Marcustoday said.
Top constituents WiseTech Global and accounting service provider Xero slipped 3.2% and 3.5%.
The resources sector also suffered, with a slump in bullion prices dragging the gold subindex about 2% lower, while miners and energy stocks tanked about 1.6% and 1.8% due to weaker commodity prices.
Both Rio Tinto and BHP Group lost 1.4% and 0.9%.
Fortescue, the world’s fourth largest iron ore producer, slumped 5.5% after flagging a rise in spending in its energy division.
Banks lost 0.8%, with financial conglomerate Macquarie Group hitting its lowest since late June after a flat operating performance in the first quarter which disappointed investors.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index also finished about 1% lower at 12,396.27 points, slipping off its two-and-a-half year closing high level.
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