Australia: Banks, miners drive shares lower ahead of GDP data

[BENGALURU] Australian shares dropped on Wednesday, weighed down by banks and miners, as investors anticipated a sharp slowdown in economic growth ahead of June-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data.

The economy was likely already slowing before wide-scale Covid-19 restrictions shuttered swathes of business and jobs, setting the stage for a vicious contraction this quarter, a Reuters poll showed.

Data released on Tuesday showed the country's current account surplus widened to a record high in the June quarter, due to booming prices for some key commodity exports, notably iron ore, and strong demand from China.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.8 per cent to 7,474.9 by 0037 GMT, retreating from a two-week closing high marked on Tuesday.

Heavyweight financials dropped 0.6 per cent, with all the"Big Four" banks - Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and Westpac Banking Corp - shedding between 0.1 per cent and 1.1 per cent.

Miners were weighed down by a drop iron ore prices, with Rio Tinto Ltd and BHP Group declining 1.7 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.

Healthcare stocks also slipped, with sector giant CSL dropping 0.7 per cent. Mesoblast fell for a second straight day after the biotechnology company said its annual attributable loss widened to US$98.8 million.

Technology stocks fell, with buy now, pay later giant Afterpay and aerial imagery firm Nearmap shedding 1.4 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, gold stocks nudged 0.1 per cent higher, benefiting from an overnight rise in bullion prices.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was down 0.2 per cent at 13,195.36. Cancer diagnostics firm Pacific Edge Ltd was the top loser on the index.

Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei rose 0.9 per cent, while S&P 500 E-minis futures climbed 0.1 per cent.

REUTERS