Australia: Shares fall on second-wave coronavirus fears; New Zealand flat

[BENGALURU] Australian shares fell on Tuesday as a growing number of new coronavirus cases in the country's most populous state fanned fears of a second wave of infections.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.9 per cent to 5,924.6 by 1236 GMT, erasing most of Monday's 1 per cent gain.

New South Wales reported on Monday 14 new cases of Covid-19 at a pub used by freight drivers, right on the heels of a surge in infections in the neighbouring Victoria state, which went back into lockdown last week.

All major sub-indexes were down for the day, with technology stocks leading the decline. The tech sub-index dropped 2.7 per cent, tracking a fall in US peers led by titans including Amazon and Microsoft.

Buy-now-pay-later firm Afterpay was among the top percentage losers on the benchmark index with a drop of almost 5 per cent.

The gold sub-index fell 2.5 per cent, led by a 6.3 per cent drop in Dacian Gold, while Alacer Gold Corp lost 5.6 per cent.

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Among top performers, Whitehaven Coal jumped about 12 per cent, making it the biggest percentage gainer on the benchmark, after the company posted a 29 per cent jump in quarterly coal production.

Whitehaven Coal shares were also the most heavily traded by volume, with more than 6 million shares changing hands, about six times the 30-day average.

In other news, Westpac Banking Corp, Australia's second-largest lender, named Michael Rowland as its chief financial officer, six months after facing a major money-laundering scandal.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index inched up 0.03 per cent to 11,438.36.

The top percentage loser on the benchmark index was Pushpay Holdings with a drop of 9 per cent, while the top gainer was Investore Property, up 3.2 per cent.

REUTERS