Australia: Shares end lower as financials slide on National Australia Bank warning
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[BENGALURU] Australian shares ended lower in choppy trading on Tuesday (Nov 9) as National Australia Bank's (NAB) warning on margins spurred a selloff in the financial sector and offset gains in mining stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 index ended the session down 0.24 per cent at 7,434.2, after having lost 0.06 per cent on Monday (Nov 8).
Bank stocks that comprise about a third of the index fell 1 per cent, as NAB lost 0.8 per cent after flagging continued pressure on lending margins in fiscal 2022 despite topping annual profit estimates.
That caused the other 3 major Australian banks to fall between 1.2 per cent and 1.6 per cent.
"NAB's bumper cash profit has failed to impress investors, who are possibly giving more weightage to the bank's expectations for FY22," said Kunal Sawhney, CEO of equity research firm Kalkine Group.
Last week, rival Westpac Banking also fuelled investor anxiety after revealing it had to take a big margin hit in order to grow its mortgage business.
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Energy stocks slid 1 per cent as sector heavyweights Woodside Petroleum and Santos fell 1.2 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively.
The country's miners, however, rose 1.4 per cent to mark their steepest climb in more than 3 weeks on strong copper prices, which were buoyed by the passage of a US$1 trillion infrastructure bill in the United States.
BHP Group, which has the largest copper exposure among the country's top miners, added 1 per cent. Fortescue Metals Group firmed 1.8 per cent, while iron ore miner Rio Tinto lost 0.2 per cent as the commodity's price fell.
Newcrest Mining, Australia's biggest listed gold producer, declined 1.6 per cent after floating plans to buy Pretium Resources in a deal valuing the Canadian miner at US$2.8 billion.
Other gold stocks climbed 0.7 per cent as bullion prices scaled a 2-month high, bolstered by a retreat in the US dollar and persistent inflation concerns.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index reversed early losses to end 0.38 per cent higher at 13,090.58.
REUTERS
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