Australia: Shares close flat as financials negate losses in retailers

[BENGALURU] Australian shares recovered from early falls to close flat on Tuesday (Dec 14), as gains in financials countered losses in retailers, while investors braced for a slew of central bank meetings this week, including by the US Federal Reserve.

The S&P/ASX 200 index settled 0.01 per cent lower at 7,378.40, clawing back from a 0.5 per cent fall in early trade.

Financials rose 0.2 per cent, turning around from a 0.5 per cent early fall, with 3 of the big 4 banks climbing between 0.04 per cent and 0.6 per cent. Commonwealth Bank of Australia slipped 0.5 per cent.

Retailers were the biggest losers on the benchmark, falling as much as 6 per cent in their worst session since March 2020.

The plunge came after Woolworths Group, Australia's biggest supermarket chain, forecast lower first-half operating income from its domestic food business. Shares of Woolworths dived 7.7 per cent, while those of rival Coles fell 2.7 per cent.

Miners climbed 0.6 per cent as iron ore prices remained strong amid tight supply. Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals rose between 0.05 per cent and 1.4 per cent.

The Fed begins its 2-day monetary policy meeting later in the day, and it is expected to announce a wrapping up of its bond buying stimulus sooner than previously communicated, potentially setting up earlier interest rate hikes next year.

Mathan Somasundaram, the chief executive officer of Deep Data Analytics, said the United States will move fast and finish tapering by the middle of 2022 as "the only way they can clear the inflation is to strengthen their currency".

In other news, biopharmaceutical giant CSL announced after market hours the acquisition of Swiss drugmaker Vifor Pharma for US$11.7 billion in an all-cash deal.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.5 per cent to 12,929.59. The benchmark had gained 1.1 per cent in the previous session.

REUTERS