Banks knock down Aussie shares; Westpac slips after announcing new CEO

Reuters

Banks knock down Aussie shares; Westpac slips after announcing new CEO

9 set. 2024, ore 7:06 GMT

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Updates to close

Westpac names new CEO

Super Retail ends as top loser on benchmark

Energy stocks extend losses

By Sneha Kumar

Sept 9 (Reuters) -Australian shares fell on Monday, weighed down by heavyweight financials after lender Westpac announced its new chief executive, while investors remained cautious as worries about a U.S. slowdown resurfaced.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO ended 0.3% lower at 7,988.1points, extending last week's lacklustre performance after a mixed U.S. payrolls report.

Financials led losses, closing down 0.6%, after mortgage lender Westpac WBC.AX promoted the head of its business and wealth unit to CEO, vowing to capitalise on a governance turnaround.

Its shares ended 0.7% lower.

"We would not expect the new leadership to change the direction or outlook for Westpac," said Nathan Zaia, an analyst at Morningstar.

Meanwhile, data on Friday showed that U.S. employment increased less than expected in August, but a drop in the jobless rate suggested the labor market was not falling off the cliff just yet.

"Australian markets are relatively insulated from the big weekly drop in the U.S.; we expect the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to maintain a moderately hawkish stance for the September meeting," said Glenn Yin, head of research and analysis at AETOS Capital.

Investors see a 92% chance that the RBA will hold interest rates during its monetary policy meeting from Sept. 23-24. 0#RBAWATCH

Back in Australia, energy stocks .AXEJ shed 0.8% to end at their lowest in over 2-1/2-years, while gold stocks .AXGD declined 1.8% on weak commodity prices.

Among individual stocks, apparel and accessories retailer Premier Investments PMV.AX closed nearly4% lower, its worst trading session in more than four years, after preliminary annual results showed its retail brand's earnings fell short of market estimates.

Retail conglomerate Super Retail SUL.AX ended 7.4% lower and was the top loser on the benchmark after its shares traded ex-dividend.

In contrast, pubs operator Hotel Property Investments HPI.AX ended 7.5% higher after its top shareholder's buyout offer valued the company at A$716.5 million ($477.7 million).

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 ended largely flat at 12,621.62 points.

($1 = 1.4999 Australian dollars)

Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema

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