Australian stocks halted a five-session rally on Thursday, dragged down by miners, banks and healthcare stocks, while major lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) lost ground after reporting a profit weaker quarterly.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.5% at 7,768.400 by 0029 GMT, with the rich stock market also tracking Wall Street’s losses overnight. Australia’s benchmark index closed 0.1% higher on Wednesday.
The financial sector fell 1%, with Westpac down 4.5% in ex-dividend trading. Commonwealth Bank of Australia slipped 0.8% after reporting a fall in third-quarter profit.
Mining stocks lost 0.4% after iron ore prices fell on Wednesday due to rising inventories. BHP Group fell 0.3%, while Rio Tinto lost 0.3%.
Healthcare stocks fell 1.2%, with biotech giant CSL losing 1.2%.
Real estate stocks lost 0.3%, while gold stocks fell 0.8%, as traders looked for further clues on the timing of US interest rate cuts.
At the same time, energy stocks rose 0.5% as global oil prices stabilized thanks to falling U.S. crude inventories. Oil and gas giant Woodside Energy rose 0.7%.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.2% to 11,751.02 as market participants eagerly await the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s expected cash rate decision for May 22.
On the business front, Fonterra Co-operative Group, the world’s largest dairy exporter, has announced the appointment of its new chief financial officer. (Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
