Australian shares drop as miners and banks fall on holiday thin trade
Australian shares dropped on Monday. The final trading week of the year began on a quiet note as banks and miners led the losses. They eased from recent highs, as holiday turnover exaggerated movements across the market.
Investors returned to the market after their Christmas and Boxing Day holidays, and turnover was about half of its 30-day average.
The index is up more than 7% for this year, and it's on track to achieve a third consecutive annual increase. It has risen by roughly 24% from 2022 when the last time that it logged a decline in a single calendar year.
"Sentiment has been lukewarm in the final weeks of this year ....There is not much a directional bias overall, but a slight negative skew," said Kyle Rodda Senior Financial Market Analyst at Capital.com.
The mining sub-index dropped 0.4%, as heavyweights lowered from record highs and tempered the boost from iron ore and Copper. The gauge gained 3.7% over the previous three sessions.
Gold miners have also retreated after briefly reaching new highs. Silver-related names performed better, with Silver?Mines up 18.4%, Advance Metals rising 19.2%, and Investigator up 36.4%.
Financials fell 0.5% on their second consecutive day of losses. Westpac, NAB, and Commonwealth Bank all slipped by 0.5%. ANZ, however, bucked this trend with a 0.4% increase.
Rodda said that front-end rate pressures increase funding costs, but do not boost lending margins. Slower credit growth and increasing arrears also add to the strain. Star Entertainment rose 7.7% following the departure of its chief financial officers from the struggling casino operator. Woodside Energy fell 0.4% despite the fact that?the oil giant signed a deal to supply BOTAS, Turkey's state-owned company.
The benchmark S&P/NZX50 index in New Zealand ended the session flat at 13,525.99 and is on track to achieve its third consecutive year of gains. (Reporting and editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bengaluru. Jasmeen Shaikh is based in Bengaluru.
(source: Reuters)
