Australian shares slipped on Monday, as losses in banks and miners offset strong performances by gold stocks, ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision this week.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.5% at 8,303.3, as of 0033 GMT.
The benchmark index ended 0.6% higher on Friday.
The RBA is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.85% on Tuesday, a Reuters poll showed, as easing inflation gives policymakers room to counter mounting global risks.
The central bank’s outlook will be in sharp focus as investors scale back expectations for rate cuts, following a Sino-US tariff truce and strong domestic jobs data that eased recession fears.
Swaps now price in a 97.87% chance of a rate cut at the RBA’s meeting.
Mining sector shed 1% on the back of subdued iron ore prices.
Shares of BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue were down 1.4%, 1.1% and 1.5%, respectively.
The rate-sensitive financials sub-index was down 0.4%, with shares of National Australia Bank and Westpac each down 0.6%. ANZ lost nearly 1%.
Energy stocks lost 0.7%. Gold stocks rose 1.5%, tracking gains in bullion prices. Shares of Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining were up 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively.
In company news, New Hope Corporation lost 5.7% to emerge as one of the top laggards in the benchmark index.
Australian shares end little changed as miners fall offsets broader gain
The energy company posted a 27% drop in its quarterly underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization and trimmed its group saleable coal production and coal sales for fiscal year 2025.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.8% to 12,683.19.
Globally, Japan’s Nikkei was down 0.59%.
The US S&P 500 index closed up 0.7% on Friday, while Nasdaq gained 0.52%.
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