Australia shares end 5-day rally on weak miners and financials; NZ falls

[BENGALURU] Australian shares snapped a five-day winning streak on Tuesday, when the market was led down by financial stocks and BHP's drop in quarterly iron ore production.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.5 per cent or 31.60 points to close at 5,858.80. The benchmark rose 0.2 per cent on Monday.

While the overall market on Monday largely shrugged off weak growth data from China, Australia's single-biggest export market, lingering worry about a sharper Chinese slowdown impacted the benchmark index on Tuesday.

Adding to concerns was the International Monetary Fund's gloomy forecast on growth, which hurt investor sentiment. U.S. stocks, which did not trade on Monday due to a holiday, are set to open lower as futures were down between 0.7 and 0.9 per cent.

Australia's financial index led the losses after rising for six consecutive days. Shares of each of the "Big Four" banks shed more than 1 per cent, with Westpac Banking Corp shedding the most, 1.7 per cent.

Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, said financials stocks have had a good run in the past few weeks and given that kind of movement, "any sign of nervousness is likely to produce a fall".

Commonwealth Bank of Australia down 1.2 per cent, while

The Australian metals and mining index lost 1 per cent, with ASX-listed shares of BHP Group falling 1.3 per cent.

The world's biggest miner said its second-quarter iron ore production fell 9 per cent and it flagged a $600 million negative impact due to production disruptions at its copper and iron ore operations.

Energy stocks shed 0.9 per cent as oil prices slipped as signs of a spreading global economic slowdown stoked concerns over future fuel demand.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.4 per cent or 33.94 points after four straight sessions of gains to finish the session at 9,114.63.

NZX-listed shares of lender Westpac Banking Corp were the top per centage loser, plunging 2.6 per cent.

REUTERS