Australia: Shares end lower as tech, healthcare stocks slump

[BENGALURU] Australian shares closed lower on Tuesday as investors consolidated positions ahead of the US Federal Reserve's meeting and awaited cues from a big earnings week in the US.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.17 per cent to close trade at 7,033.8 points, with advances in major miners cushioning the impact of losses in tech and healthcare sectors.

Many investors stuck to the sidelines ahead of a Fed monetary policy meeting ending Wednesday, where the US central bank is expected to confirm it will maintain its easy monetary policy to bolster the economy.

"While no major policy changes are expected in the Fed's meeting, investors will pay close attention to comments from Chairman Jerome Powell," said James Tao, market analyst at CommSec.

"Investors are also on the fence ahead of the release of Australia's consumer price index for the first quarter later in the week while also biding time to see how the busiest week of the US earnings plays out."

Local tech stocks snubbed the tech-heavy Nasdaq's market-leading overnight role, falling 2.5 per cent to hit their lowest since April 7. Buy-now-pay-later darling Afterpay fell 5.5 per cent, followed by Xero, losing 2.2 per cent.

The healthcare index ended 0.8 per cent lower, tracking a weak dollar which hovered near multi-week lows. Pharmaceutical firm Mesoblast sank 7.2 per cent to lead losses on the sub-index.

In contrast, miners extended gains from Monday and continued to push ahead, edging 0.9 per cent higher after copper prices hit a decade high overnight and Chinese steel futures closed at record peaks on Monday.

Tesla-supplier Piedmont Lithium rose as much as 8 per cent to be the top performer on the sub-index, while heavyweights - BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue - gained between 1.1 per cent and 1.6 per cent.

Waste manager Bingo Industries was the top percentage gainer on the local bourse, up 6.7 per cent, after the firm agreed to be bought by Macquarie Group for A$2.3 billion (S$2.38 billion). Bingo shares were also the most heavily traded by volume.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.24 per cent to 12,620.5. The top percentage losers were A2 Milk Company, down 3.8 per cent, and Fletcher Building, losing 1.5 per cent.

REUTERS