Australia: Energy, miners pull down shares
[SYDNEY] Energy and commodity-related firms led losses on the Australian benchmark share index on Thursday, while renewed concerns over US-China trade relations kept investor risk appetite in check.
The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.4 per cent lower at 6,649.10. The benchmark rose 0.5 per cent on Wednesday.
Oil prices steadied after initially extending the previous day's decline when data showed US stockpiles of products such as gasoline had risen sharply last week.
The energy sub-index plummeted 2.3 per cent, with its biggest player Woodside Petroleum falling to a six-week low after reporting a 32 per cent decline in second-quarter revenue, missing analyst forecasts by a big margin.
Australian mining shares slid as iron ore futures in China retreated from record levels after a rally in the steel-making ingredient took it to its highest since 2013.
Shares of global miner Rio Tinto were off 0.8 per cent, while those of its larger rival BHP Group fell 1.5 per cent.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index closed up 0.8 per cent at 10,741.09.
REUTERS
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Capital Markets & Currencies
US dollar inches up; Aussie, yen slide
Singapore stocks end lower even as regional markets rally; STI slips 0.1%
Swiss-Asia Financial Services fined S$2.5 million for breaches of anti-money laundering rules
Asia: Stocks track another rally on Wall Street as US rate optimism lingers
Singapore shares rise at Tuesday’s open tracking global rally; STI up 0.2%
ETF popularity poised to stay as investors flock to diversification, stability