Banks help Australia shares rebound; miners and energy lag
Dec 17 (Reuters) -Australian shares ended its five-day losing streak on Tuesday as gains in banks outweighed losses by mining and energy stocks, while investors globally pondered over the outlook for U.S. policy easing beyond this week.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.2% to 8265.9 by 2335 GMT. The benchmark ended 0.6% lower on Monday.
Financials sub-index .AXFJ led the benchmark higher by advancing 0.4%, with shares of the "Big Four" banks up between 0.2% and 0.4%.
Meanwhile miners .AXMM lost 0.5% on the back of declining metal prices. MET/L
Mining behemoths BHP Group BHP.AX, Rio Tinto RIO.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX lost between 0.4% and 1.1%.
Energy stocks .AXEJ shed 1.1% as oil prices slipped on consumer spending weakness in China, the world's largest oil importer, and as investors paused buying ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. O/R
Sector heavyweights Woodside WDS.AX and Santos STO.AX were down 1.4% each.
The Federal Reserve meets on Wednesday and is expected to cut rates by 25 basis points to a new range of 4.25% to 4.50%. Investors would be keenly looking for any guidance on future easing, with futures implying just two rate cuts for all of 2025.
Domestic gold stocks .AXGD fell by 0.3% with shares of Northern Star Resources NST.AX and Genesis Minerals GMD.AX down 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively.
Technology stocks .AXIJ tracked their overseas peers higher, and were up 0.2%.
Shares of Wisetech Global WTC.AX, NEXTDC Ltd NXT.AX were up 0.5% each.
Among individual stocks, Australian oil and gas producer Karoon Energy KAR.AX fell as much as 7.5%, to record its worst day since Aug. 29, on cutting production outlook for its Baúna project in Brazil due to operational disruptions.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.1% to 12811.6 points.
Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona
For more information on DIARIES & DATA: U.S. earnings diary RESF/US Wall Street Week Ahead .N/O Global Economy Week Ahead DATA/ ................................................................ For latest top breaking news across all markets NEWS1
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
