Australia: Shares slump as miners, energy stocks drag

AUSTRALIAN shares tumbled on Monday, dragged down by mining and energy stocks on weaker iron ore and oil prices, while persistent fears of a possible worldwide recession weighed on investor sentiment.

The S&P/ASX 200 index lost 1.6 per cent to 6,651.4, as of 0018 GMT.

The benchmark closed 1.8 per cent higher on Friday. 

Leading losses on the benchmark, mining stocks dropped 2.9 per cent, as iron ore prices fell amid worries over demand in top steel producer China. Mining giants Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals Group fell between 2.8 per cent and 3.2 per cent. 

Adbri fell 19 per cent to top losses on the index, after the building materials maker said its chief executive officer Nick Miller will resign, and flagged continued earnings hit due to extreme rainfall and higher costs. 

Major Wall Street indexes fell on Friday as worsening inflation expectations kept intact worries that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hike path could trigger a recession.

Financials, technology and healthcare stocks all traded in the red. Gold stocks dropped 3.4 per cent to hit their lowest since Sept 30.

Newcrest Mining and Northern Star Resources fell 2.4 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively. 

Energy stocks lost 2.7 per cent after oil prices fell more than 3 per cent on weak oil demand. Woodside Energy (WDS.AX) and Santos dropped 2.5 per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively. 

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Australia: Financials and energy stocks boost shares

Fruit grower Costa Group hit more than seven-year lows after it said annual citrus production earnings will be “considerably lower” than prior forecasts. Health insurance company Medibank fell 3.7 per cent after reporting a cyber incident last week.

The company said on Monday it had resumed normal business operations and there was no evidence that customer data had been removed from the network. 

Natural gas operator APA Group fell 0.7 per cent after it proposed to buy electricity interconnector Basslink for A$773 million (S$685 million) to expand its energy transmission footprint. 

The New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 1.1 per cent to 10,746.12. REUTERS