Australian shares extended losses to the fifth straight session to fall to a one-month closing low on Monday, with commodity stocks dragging down the resource-heavy bourse, while investors awaited the US Federal reserve’s policy meeting this week.
The S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 0.6% to end at 8,249.5 points, its lowest closing level since Nov. 18.
The Fed is widely expected to ease interest rates at its Dec. 17-18 meeting, with traders seeing a nearly 97% chance of a 25-basis-points cut, CME’s FedWatch Tool showed, while indicating chances of a rate-cut pause in January.
Domestically, miners posted their fourth straight session of declines to end 2.2% lower at a one-month low, making them the top laggards on the benchmark.
Sector majors BHP and Fortescue shed 2% and 3.8%, respectively.
Iron ore futures slid to their lowest in a week, pressured by faltering near-term demand and remaining bleak property data in top consumer China.
“But that narrative could change quickly if China cuts interest rates soon. It probably will too, which will delight commodity investors,” Jessica Amir, a market strategist at online trading platform Moomoo, said.
Gold miners slipped 2.8% as bullion edged higher, but failed to recoup Friday’s declines.
Northern Star Resources slipped 2.1% and Evolution Mining eased 2.2%.
Energy stocks fell 0.7% on easing oil prices. Bucking the trend, financials, the heaviest-weighted sector on the benchmark, gained 0.2%.
Australian shares fall as miners offset real estate and healthcare gains
Separately, data centre landlord DigiCo Infrastructure REIT closed 5.5% lower in its second day of trade after its A$2 billion ($1.28 billion) listing.
Asset manager HMC Capital, which holds an 18.2% stake in DigiCo, dropped 13.7% to emerge as the top loser on the index.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index gained 0.3% to finish at 12,797.33 points.
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