Australia: Shares wobble ahead of cenbank rate decision; New Zealand falls

[BENGALURU] Australian shares seesawed on Monday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the central bank's cash rate decision and second-quarter economic growth data expected this week to gauge the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic domestically.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.2 per cent to 6,083.60 by 0100 GMT, with gains capped by rising worries of an economic recovery as the country reported a record daily rise in coronavirus-related deaths.

Reserve Bank of Australia, set to meet on Tuesday, is expected to hold the cash rate at its all-time low.

Meanwhile, GDP data for the second quarter on Wednesday is likely to reflect the worst of the pandemic's impact.

Analysts at ANZ expect the economy to shrink 5.8 per cent in the June quarter from a year ago, while a Reuters poll forecasts the contraction at 5.3 per cent, compared with a growth of 1.4 per cent in the March quarter.

The biggest drags on the main index were healthcare firms, which fell as much as 0.9 per cent to hit their lowest in about two weeks.

Heavyweight CSL slipped 0.8 per cent, while ASX-listed shares of Resmed gave up 1.3 per cent.

Gold stocks were among the gainers, rising as much as 2.5 per cent. Newcrest Mining gained 2.7 per cent and Northern Star Resources rose 3 per cent.

National Australia Bank gained 0.8 per cent after wealth manager IOOF Holdings announced the acquisition of its wealth management business for A$1.44 billion (S$1.44 billion).

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index slipped 0.6 per cent, or 72.94 points, to 12,020.58 as of 1230 GMT.

The bourse's website crashed for a fifth day in row on Monday, after a series of cyber attacks last week hit the bourse's ability to operate normally.

Financials and healthcare firms dragged down the index, with New Zealand-listed shares of Westpac Banking Corp losing up to 1 per cent and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp shedding up to 2.4 per cent.

REUTERS