Australian shares were largely flat on Tuesday as gains in tech and energy stocks offset losses in banks and gold, while investors digested minutes of the central bank’s December policy meeting.
The S&P/ASX 200 index edged 0.1% lower to 8,196.4 0025 GMT.
The benchmark closed 1.7% higher on Monday.
Minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) December board meeting released on Tuesday showed the central bank judged the upside risks to inflation to have diminished and the downside risks to the economy to have strengthened.
The RBA had turned dovish in its policy earlier this month, holding rates but keeping the door open to a cut in 2025.
Investors have priced in a 55% chance of policy easing in February while a cut is fully priced in by April, and lower rates could hurt the earnings of the financial sector.
The financials index fell 0.2%, with shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ANZ and Westpac down between 0.1% and 0.5%. Miners lost 0.6% on the back of declining metal prices, with BHP Group dropping 0.4%.
Gold stocks fell 1.3% after bullion prices eased weighed down by a robust dollar. Shares of Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining declined about 1.1% and 0.3% each.
Energy firms, bucking the trend, gained 0.3% in thin trading ahead of the Christmas holiday on Wednesday. Sector heavyweights Viva Energy and Beach Energy gained around 0.7% each.
Tech stocks tracking their US peers which closed higher on Monday gained 0.4%.
Australian shares fall as miners offset real estate and healthcare gains
In company news, ASX-listed shares of Arcadium Lithium rose as much as 7.4% after its shareholders approved $6.7 billion Rio Tinto takeover.
Rio shares edged up 0.1%.
St Barbara’s shares plummet up to 36.1%, potentially marking the worst trading day since 1990, following a significant tax bill from the Papua New Guinea government linked to its Simberi operations.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index gained 0.7% at 13,074.74 points.
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