Australian shares fell on Thursday, dragged down by energy and bank stocks, while investors assessed the economic implications of the country’s top trading partner China unlocking more fiscal stimulus.
The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 0.6% to hit 8,096, as of 1205 GMT.
The benchmark fell 0.7% on Wednesday.
Australia’s top trading partner China unleashed more stimulus on Wednesday, as it looks to defend its economy from the ramifications of a tariff face-off with the US Energy stocks slumped about 2.5%, after crude oil prices settled down to their lowest in months as the US reported larger-than-expected stockpiles of the commodity.
Sector major Woodside Energy shed as much as 5.1% to hit a more than three-year low of A$22.89, while smaller rival Santos fell 1%.
Heavyweight financials dropped 0.5% and were set for a third straight session of losses.
Major lender Westpac shed 0.7%, while the Commonwealth Bank of Australia slumped 0.5%.
Healthcare stocks were also among the benchmark’s top losers, down 1.3%, while consumer discretionary stocks lost 1.1%.
Biopharmaceutical company CSL dropped 1.1%, while content creator Aristocrat Leisure retreated 1.2%. Bucking the trend, however, domestic miners, who export their iron ore to top steelmaker China, gained 0.3%.
Banks drag Australian shares lower amid growing trade war worries
Mining major Fortescue, which ships most of its iron ore to China, climbed 0.8%. Sector giant Rio Tinto, however, shed 1.4% as underlying commodity prices weighed on sentiment.
Overnight, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 485.60 points, or 1.14%, to 43,006.59.
The S&P 500 gained 64.48 points, or 1.12%, while Nasdaq gained 267.57 points, or 1.46%.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was trading largely flat on Thursday.
Australian shares fell on Thursday, dragged down by energy and bank stocks, while investors assessed the economic implications of the country’s top trading partner China unlocking more fiscal stimulus.
The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 0.6% to hit 8,096, as of 1205 GMT.
The benchmark fell 0.7% on Wednesday.
Australia’s top trading partner China unleashed more stimulus on Wednesday, as it looks to defend its economy from the ramifications of a tariff face-off with the US Energy stocks slumped about 2.5%, after crude oil prices settled down to their lowest in months as the US reported larger-than-expected stockpiles of the commodity.
Sector major Woodside Energy shed as much as 5.1% to hit a more than three-year low of A$22.89, while smaller rival Santos fell 1%.
Heavyweight financials dropped 0.5% and were set for a third straight session of losses.
Major lender Westpac shed 0.7%, while the Commonwealth Bank of Australia slumped 0.5%.
Healthcare stocks were also among the benchmark’s top losers, down 1.3%, while consumer discretionary stocks lost 1.1%.
Biopharmaceutical company CSL dropped 1.1%, while content creator Aristocrat Leisure retreated 1.2%. Bucking the trend, however, domestic miners, who export their iron ore to top steelmaker China, gained 0.3%.
Banks drag Australian shares lower amid growing trade war worries
Mining major Fortescue, which ships most of its iron ore to China, climbed 0.8%. Sector giant Rio Tinto, however, shed 1.4% as underlying commodity prices weighed on sentiment.
Overnight, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 485.60 points, or 1.14%, to 43,006.59.
The S&P 500 gained 64.48 points, or 1.12%, while Nasdaq gained 267.57 points, or 1.46%.
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was trading largely flat on Thursday.
American Dollar Exchange Rate