Australian shares extend losses for second straight session
Dec 20 (Reuters) -Australian shares extended losses for the second straight session, dragged down by commodity stocks, a day after the Federal Reserve signalled fewer interest rate cuts for next year.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was down 1.1% at 8080.9 by 0025 GMT. The benchmark was on track to record its worst week since mid-April, having lost 2.4% so far. The benchmark fell 1.7% on Thursday.
The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points as expected on Wednesday, while revising its forecast for 2025, cutting the number of projected rate reductions to two from the four anticipated in September.
In Sydney, financials sub-index .AXFJ dropped by 1.5% for the day, on track to record its fourth straight week of losses, with the "Big Four" banks down between 1% and 1.7%.
Miners .AXMM lost 0.6% on the back of falling iron-ore prices as concerns about demand prospects in top consumer China and the U.S. Federal Reserve's outlook for interest rate cuts next year weighed on sentiment. IRONORE/
Mining behemoths BHP Group BHP.AX and Rio Tinto RIO.AX were down 0.7% and 0.3% respectively.
Gold stocks .AXGD lost 1.7%, with shares of St Barbara SBM.AX down 2.5%.
Sub-index leaders Northern Star Resources NST.AX and Evolution Mining EVN.AX slipped 1.5% and 2.3% respectively.
In company news, conglomerate Wesfarmers WES.AX said it would sell its industrial gas supply arm, Coregas, to Japanese multinational firm Nippon Sanso 4091.T for A$770 million ($480.33 million). Wesfarmers was down 1.7%.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was flat at 12,753.74.
Reporting by Nichiket Sunil in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona
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