Australia: Shares fall on caution ahead of US presidential debate

[BENGALURU] Australian shares fell on Wednesday, tracking overnight Wall Street losses, as investors pulled out of risky bets ahead of the first US presidential debate, even as the domestic Covid-19 situation improved.

The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped up to 1.5 per cent in early trade and was on track for a third straight day of losses, after Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday, snapping a three-day winning streak.

Global developments largely overshadowed an improving coronavirus situation in Australia's hotspot of Victoria state, where 13 new cases were reported on Wednesday, far less than a peak of more than 700 cases logged in early August.

Barring a 0.7 per cent gain by gold stocks, all major sub-indexes were trading in the red.

Energy stocks, down as much as 2.1 per cent, were the top losers among sectors due to an overnight 3 per cent drop in oil prices over demand concerns.

Whitehaven Coal lost up to 6.4 per cent and was the top percentage loser on the sub-index, followed by Viva Energy, down 4.5 per cent.

Sector heavyweight Santos fell 3 per cent, despite a state panel approving its A$3.6 billion (S$3.5 billion) Narrabri gas project.

Tech stocks halted a three-day winning streak and fell up to 1.6 per cent, with losses in EML Payments and Afterpay weighing on the sub-index.

Financials extended their losing streak to a third session.

The "big four" banks slipped between 1.7 per cent and 2 per cent.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.4 per cent to 11,699.14 by 0105 GMT.

Shares of a2 Milk hit their lowest in over six months, and were the top drag on the benchmark for the third consecutive day after projecting a bleak earnings outlook on Monday.

The country's business sentiment improved in September amid growing confidence that the Covid-19 outbreak is under control, an ANZ Bank survey showed.

REUTERS