Australia: Shares drop as tech stocks weigh; Westpac jumps

[BENGALURU] Australian shares inched lower on Thursday after two straight sessions of gains, weighed down by technology stocks, while banking giant Westpac jumped after reporting first-quarter profit above estimates.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.2 per cent to 7,074.7 by 1225 GMT, after rising 1.7 per cent in the previous two sessions.

Technology stocks fell 5.3 per cent, extending losses for the year so far to more than 20 per cent, weighed down by ASX-listed shares of Block Inc and Xero. Block's Australian shares fell as much as 11.3 per cent, tracking overnight losses in the company's US-listed shares.

Wall Street sentiment turned sour in post-market trade. Meta Platforms plunged more than 20 per cent after the Facebook owner missed its earnings estimate.

Meanwhile, Westpac Banking Corp rose as much as 3.6 per cent and was headed for its best session Since Sept 30, after the lender beat estimates for first-quarter profit and made headway in cutting costs.

Financials were up 0.1 per cent after declining as much as 1 per cent in early trading.

Among other losers, gaming company Aristocrat Leisure dropped about 1 per cent after its offer to buy Britain's Playtech Plc fell through.

Healthcare and energy stocks were down 1.4 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively.

However, mining stocks gained nearly 1 per cent, benefiting from an uptick in copper and gold prices, with index heavyweights like Rio Tinto and global miner BHP Group rising 1.8 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.1 per cent, or 10.6 points, to 12,300.24.

The country's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said there would be a phased reopening of its borders, which were closed for nearly two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. REUTERS