Australian shares slip below 9,000 mark as financials, healthcare drag

Australian shares eased on Tuesday, dropping below the key 9, 000-point level as banking and healthcare stocks hit near one-week lows, with investors remaining wary of energy-fuelled inflation. The S&P/ASX 200 index lost 0. 4% to 8, 979. 70 by 0012 GMT. The benchmark edged 0. 1% lower on Monday. Financials were among the major drags in the main index, down 0. 7% at their lowest levels since September 3, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia shedding 1%. Shares of CBA have fallen roughly 8% since the country’s top lender flagged declining mortgage volume growth in its annual results last month. HSBC forecasts Australian house prices will fall 13% nationally by mid-2027 as the government’s property tax changes and higher interest rates dent demand from homebuyers. Adding to the pall is the persistent rise in crude prices as the escalating tensions in the Gulf put supply at risk, leaving central banks across the globe more likely than not to raise interest rates. Swaps imply a 68. 8% probability that the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise its key cash rate at its upcoming policy meeting later this month, in what could be its fourth hike so far this year. Rate-sensitive real estate and consumer discretionary stocks added to broader weakness, down 0. 5% and 0. 3%, respectively. Healthcare stocks fell 0. 6% to their lowest levels since September 2, largely weighed down by biotech major CSL’s nearly 1% loss. CSL, with significant exposure in the United States, is impacted by a strong local currency. The Aussie has climbed against the greenback over the last four sessions, pegged at a near four-month high. Energy stocks were among the few sectors trading in the green, eking out a 0. 1% gain. Santos advanced as much as 0. 8% after buying an additional 3. 3% stake in the Papua New Guinea LNG project for $189 million. New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was largely unchanged at 13, 929. 94 points.

Read full story on Business Recorder