Australia shares fall as bank, gold stocks weigh

Australian shares fell on Wednesday, heading into a sixth straight session of losses, as investors digested a wave of corporate earnings, including those of energy producer Santos and coal miner Whitehaven Coal.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.3 % to 9043 points by 0107 GMT, set for its sixth consecutive session of declines.

The benchmark ended flat on Tuesday.

Financials fell 1.1%, set for their fourth straight session of losses, with the ‘Big Four’ banks all trading in the red between 0.6% and 2.3%.

Gold stocks dropped 2.8% after a drop in bullion prices. Gold miner Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources fell over 1.5% each.

Technology stocks fell as much as 1.3%, tracking a tech selloff on Wall Street.

Meanwhile, energy stocks rose as much as 1.1% to their highest level since early May.

Oil and gas producer Santos reported a smaller-than-expected drop in its first-half profit but forecast higher production in the second half, and rose as much as 3.5% to its highest level since early June 2022.

The stock was the top gainer on the energy sub-index.

However, Whitehaven Coal was among the top laggards on the sub-index and fell as much as 4.9% after the country’s largest independent coal miner posted a 29% drop in its full-year profit.

Separately, diversified property group Stockland Corporation jumped as much as 16.1% after it reported a 20.2% jump in full-year net profit, and emerged as the top gainer on the benchmark.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was up 0.2% at 13,896.68.

Construction materials maker Fletcher Building jumped as much as 6.4% to its highest peak in over two years, after the builder swung to a profit, helped by proceeds from the divestment of its construction division and other non-core operating units.