Australia: Financials drag shares lower; geopolitical concerns weigh

AUSTRALIAN shares inched down on Wednesday, led by financials, with investors keeping an eye on cooling US inflation numbers for clues on interest rate hikes, while reports of Russian missiles killing two people in Poland also dented sentiment. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell about 0.1 per cent to 7,137.0 by 2358 GMT. The benchmark ended 0.1 per cent lower on Tuesday. Two people were killed in an explosion in a Polish village bordering Ukraine by a stray Russian missile, according to reports. US and Western allies said they were investigating but could not confirm that the blast resulted from Russian stray missiles. Data from the United States suggests inflation in the world’s largest economy could be cooling down, raising hopes that the Federal Reserve could soon curb its aggressive interest rate hike policy. However in contrast, the International Monetary Fund said Australia should continue to tighten its monetary and fiscal policy to control inflation despite of slowdown risks to economy. Financials dropped 0.7 per cent, with the “Big Four” banks losing between 0.3 per cent and 1.7 per cent. Top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia declined as much as 2.4 per cent. Separately, the Australian securities regulator suspended the licence of the local arm of FTX, as the Bahamas-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange faces intense global regulatory scrutiny. Healthcare and consumer firms were also among the top drags on the benchmark. Miners gained 0.8 per cent after iron ore prices jumped as China eased some of its Covid-19 curbs.

Heavyweights Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals Group gained between 0.8 per cent and 1.6 per cent. Shares of gold and copper miner OZ Minerals were put on a halt early on Wednesday, pending announcement on a potential change of control transaction. Energy stocks were up 1.4 per cent, with Santos and Woodside Energy gaining 1.1 per cent and 1.9 per cent, respectively. In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was up 0.3 per cent at 11,277.01. REUTERS