Australia: Miners, energy firms pull shares lower; ANZ gains on profit jump

[BENGALURU] Australian shares dipped in early trade on Thursday (Oct 28), hurt by falls in energy and mining stocks on weak commodity prices, while the country's fourth-largest lender ANZ gained on robust annual profit.

The S&P/ASX 200 index shed as much as 0.4 per cent to 7,416.3, before paring some losses to trade 0.1 per cent lower closer to midday. The index is heading toward snapping a 6-session rally.

Falling most were energy stocks, down nearly 2 per cent, as oil prices dropped. Coal miner Whitehaven Coal, led losses, plunging as much as 13 per cent.

Miners followed, with BHP Group and Rio Tinto falling more than 1 per cent early in the session.

A drop in aluminium prices to their lowest in nearly 8 weeks sent shares of Alumina Ltd and South32 sharply lower.

Separately, Australia eased Covid-related travel advice for several countries including the United States, Britain and Canada, as it prepares to reopen its borders next week for the first time in over 18 months.

Boral, the top construction materials maker, gained the most on the benchmark as it took a smaller hit to earnings than it initially thought.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) kicked off the bank earnings, posting a 65 per cent jump in annual profit. Shares rose 1.3 per cent outperforming its "Big Four" rivals.

Newcrest Mining, Australia's largest listed gold miner, dropped 1.4 per cent, marking its worst day since Sep 29 and posted a 21.2 per cent fall in first-quarter gold production.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was on track to extend losses into the fourth session, falling 0.4 per cent to 12,965.55 points.

REUTERS