Australia: Shares track Wall Street lower; gold loses shine

[BENGALURU] Australian shares fell on Tuesday as technology stocks tracked the overnight plunge in Wall Street's tech-heavy Nasdaq index, while a firmer US dollar pushed domestic gold stocks to their lowest level in 1-1/2 years.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.62 per cent at 7,338.50 points, as of 0100 GMT. The benchmark closed 0.57 per cent higher on Monday.

Tech stocks dived 2.2 per cent and extended losses to a third day after tracking Wall Street's Nadaq Composite Index lower with investors pivoting to value as tech shares, hurt by rising Treasury yields, weighed on equities.

Megaport fell 3.3 per cent to lead losses in the tech index, followed by Appen that dropped 3.4 per cent.

Sector heavyweight Afterpay fell as much as 0.8 per cent to hit a near one-week low and was on track for a second consecutive session of losses.

Gold stocks dived as much as 3.1 per cent to their lowest level since March 2020 after a stronger dollar and elevated US Treasury yields made bullion less appealing for holders of other currencies.

Gold miners Ora Banda Mining and Evolution Mining slid 4.3 per cent and 3.9 per cent, respectively, to lead losses in the index.

The metals and mining index was down 1.4 per cent after prices of industrial metals fell as power curbs in top consumer China continued to hit demand.

Mining heavyweights Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals Group fell between 1.1 per cent and 2.1 per cent.

Energy stocks bucked the trend to gain up to 3.2 per cent, hitting their highest level in more than two months on firmer oil prices.

Beach Energy rose 7.3 per cent to lead gains in the index while sector heavyweights Whitehaven Coal and Woodside Petroleum were up 4.2 per cent and 3.9 per cent, respectively.

Financials climbed 0.4 per cent with the "Big Four" banks gaining between 0.2 per cent and 2 per cent.

Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei was down 0.6 per cent at 30,054.01 points versus the previous session's close of 30,240.06 points.

Across the Tasman sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was down 0.1 per cent at 13,221.30 points.

REUTERS