Australian shares slip for third session as banks, miners drag

Australian shares slipped for a third consecutive session on Wednesday, pressured by banks and miners, as traders digested the prospect of a rate hike next year following recent hawkish comments from the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.3% at 8,569.70 points, as of 2327 GMT.

The benchmark closed 0.4% lower on Tuesday.

The country’s central bank flagged a possible interest rate hike if inflationary pressures persist, as it kept the key cash rate steady at its December meeting.

Financials slipped nearly 1%, marking their steepest intraday drop in more than two weeks.

Top lender CBA fell 1%, while the other three of the “Big Four” banks dropped between 0.1% and 0.8%.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank, two of the country’s major lenders, now expect a February rate hike as the inflation rate accelerates in a capacity-constrained economy.

Miners slipped around 0.2%, pressured by lower copper prices in the previous session.

Major sub-index players BHP and Fortescue slid 0.3% and 0.9% respectively, while Rio Tinto gained 0.2%.

Energy sub-index slipped 1.6%, marking a third consecutive session of losses and hitting its lowest level since October 23.

Sector heavyweights Santos and Woodside Energy dropped 1.3% and 2%, respectively.

Among individual stocks, Treasury Wine Estates declined as much as 16.8% to its lowest point since January 21, 2015.

The luxury winemaker cancelled the remaining portion of its share buyback programme and sharply downgraded its first-half fiscal 2026 earnings.

New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.2% to 13,391.51 points.

The country’s top central banker said the official cash rate was likely to remain low through next year, countering markets expectations of two rate hikes next year.