Australian shares were on track to snap a 10-session rally on Friday, dragged by local miners, while investors were cautious ahead of domestic inflation data and a deluge of corporate earnings, to assess the central bank’s monetary policy path.
The S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 0.3% to 8,002.2, as of 0046 GMT.
The benchmark rose 0.2% on Thursday. The index is down 0.3% for the week.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has kept near-term interest rate cuts off the table, stating that policy might need to stay restrictive for an “extended period” to ensure inflation can be tamed.
However, traders are expecting an 84% probability that the RBA could cut rates by this year-end.
The Aussie dollar was trading 0.13% weaker against the US dollar to A$0.67. Local miners were the biggest laggards on the benchmark index, falling around 1% among a broad-based decline.
However, the sub-index was up more than 3% for the week. Mining giants BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue were all down between 0.7% and 1.3%.
Financials struggled for direction, paring early losses to trade rangebound.
Australian shares hit record high; RBA cautious on inflation
Of the “Big Four” banks, ANZ Group slipped 0.8% after Australia’s prudential regulator increased the capital add-on requirement for the lender to A$750 million ($503.25 million), highlighting persistent concerns about ANZ’s risk management practices.
Overnight, the S&P 500 index in the US was mostly unchanged? on Thursday, while Nasdaq lost 299.63 points, or 1.67%.
S&P 500 E-minis futures were up 11 points, or 0.2%, the contract down 0.28% from the close.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes rose to 3.8464%, compared to its previous close of 3.862%.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index pared early losses to edge 0.3% up to 12,512.68.
American Dollar Exchange Rate