Australia shares fall amid broad-based sell off; GDP data in focus

Reuters

Australia shares fall amid broad-based sell off; GDP data in focus

4. Sep. 2024 um 12:52 vorm. GMT

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By Adwitiya Srivastava

Sept 4 (Reuters) -Australian shares slid on Wednesday in a broad-based sell off, as lacklustre data from the U.S. dampened market sentiment globally, while local investors awaited the country's gross domestic product (GDP) data.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 1.4% to 7,989, as of 1225 GMT, eyeing its worst day since Aug. 5.

Market mood soured after data from the Institute for Supply Management revealed that although slightly improving in August from an eight-month low in July, U.S. manufacturing remained muted, spurring concerns about the U.S. economy.

While in Australia, investors await the country's second-quarter GDP report to better gauge the monetary policy stance of the local central bank, which is anticipated to demonstrate an annual growth rate of 1%, as per LSEG data.

Any read in negative territory for the GDP could have a chilling effect on sentiment, and the share market, said Michael McCarthy, chief commercial officer at data brokerage platform Moomoo.

Heavyweight miners .AXMM led losses, falling 2.5%, to hit lowest level since Oct. 31, 2022, following weaker iron ore prices. IRONORE/

Sector giants BHP Group BHP.AX and Rio Tinto RIO.AX were down 1.7% and 2%, respectively.

Energy stocks .AXEJ dropped 2.4% to hit their lowest level since March 2022, as oil prices hit a nine-month low. O/R

Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell 0.2% to $73.60 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 lost 0.28% to $70.14 per barrel.

Sector major Woodside Energy WDS.AX fell 2.1%, while smaller rival Santos STO.AX traded 2.9% lower.

Technology stocks .AXIJ fell 1.8%, tracking overnight losses in their Wall Street peers. .N

The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 626.15 points, or 1.51%, at 40,936.93 points on Tuesday. The S&P 500 .SPX, .SPX lost 119.47 points, or 2.12% while Nasdaq .IXIC lost 577.33 points, or 3.26%. .N

Shares of Xero XRO.AX fell 1.6%.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.6% to 12,451.27.

Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich

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

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