Woodside rallies to cap losses; miners and tech drag Australian shares down
Australian shares dropped for the second session in a row on Thursday. Mining and tech stocks were to blame, but losses were mitigated by Woodside Energy's surge following new investment in Louisiana LNG.
S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.4% at 8,993.5 by 0002 GMT. The benchmark closed Wednesday 0.7% lower.
After three sessions of gains, technology stocks dropped by 1.2%. U.S. stocks closed lower overnight after a wave mixed earnings reports from corporates dampened sentiment.
Block Australia shares dropped 2.3% while WiseTech, a software services provider, fell 1.3%.
The miners dropped 0.9%, which could be the second consecutive session in which they have declined. The sub-index is up 2% from the start of October and heading towards a fourth consecutive monthly gain.
BHP Group fell by 2.5%, while Rio Tinto dropped by 1.2%. Fortescue rose more than 1% after a record-breaking first quarter iron ore shipment before trading flat.
Alcoa shares listed in Australia were the biggest losers of the benchmark index, with a decline of 3.9%.
Financials fell 0.7% with Macquarie and Commonwealth Bank of Australia both down 1.1%.
Oil prices rose by over 2% overnight after the United States announced sanctions against Russia aimed at oil companies.
Woodside Energy's stock rose more than 4%, reaching its highest level since the middle of September. The oil and gas producer announced that U.S. Pipeline Operator Williams will invest $1.9 billion into its Louisiana Liquefied Natural Gas project.
The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index in New Zealand rose 0.1% to 13,318.66 at the last trade.
(source: Reuters)
