Australia: Shares slip, set to snap 7-day winning streak; New Zealand inches up
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[BENGALURU] Australian shares slipped on Wednesday after a seven-session run of gains, led lower by miners, ahead of domestic inflation data due later in the day.
The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.4 per cent, or 24.5 points, to 6,720.90 by 2354 GMT. The benchmark rose 0.1 per cent on Tuesday.
Third quarter consumer prices data will be examined for evidence of the effects of the Reserve Bank of Australia's three rate cuts this year to 0.75 per cent.
"Like the United States, we're near record highs, yet the outlook for the economy is much more cautious," said Damian Rooney, director of equity sales at Argonaut. "My view is that the stock market is at a risk to retrace back."
Mining stocks logged sharp losses, after iron-ore futures fell on Tuesday amid worries about rising inventories and lower demand from China.
Adding pressure, the World Bank downgraded outlook for energy and metal commodities prices, predicting a continued fall in 2020 after sharp declines in 2019 on a weaker outlook for global growth and consequent softer demand.
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"The downgrade has a fair knock on effect for Australia, because we're such enormous producers of iron ore and base metals," Rooney said.
BHP Group and Rio Tinto shed as much as 1.3 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively. The world's No. 4 iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group lost as much as 1.6 per cent.
Financials also edged lower, with shares of all of the "Big Four" lenders trading lower.
The country's biggest lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell 0.6 per cent while Westpac Banking Corp traded 0.5 per cent lower.
Bucking the trend, gold stocks managed to lock in modest gains as the uptick in caution supported the sector which is seen as a proxy for investments in the safe-haven metal.
Also on the uptick, Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia Ltd posted a 29.9 per cent rise in third-quarter underlying net profit, citing improved conditions in the Australian property market.
Property developers such as Stockland Corp, Dexus and Abacus Property Group traded higher following Genworth's results.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.2 per cent or 19.92 points to 10,814.86.
Market operator NZX gained 3.3 per cent while drug retailer EBOS Group added 1.8 per cent.
Investors will likely later switch attention to the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, which is due early Thursday morning Sydney time, with markets largely pricing in another rate cut by the central bank.
REUTERS
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