Banks, health stocks drag Australian shares lower
Corrects to say benchmark index fell 0.5%, not 5% in paragraph 2
July 1 (Reuters) -Australian shares fell on Monday in tandem with its U.S. peers, as traders assessed the U.S. inflation reading, which came in-line with expectations, looking for clarity regarding the Federal Reserve's monetary easing stance.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell about 0.5%to 7,727.500 by 0043 GMT. The benchmark closed 0.1% higher in the previous session.
Shares in Wall Street ended lower on Friday, bogged down by political uncertainties with elections in the United Kingdom and France looming over.
On the other hand, investors digested the U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed's preferred gauge to measure inflation, which showed that monthly inflation in May was largely unchanged. .N
Back in Sydney on Monday, market participants await the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's June meeting, due on Tuesday, hoping to get the air cleared around the central bank's rate-cut trajectory.
Financials .AXFJ lost 0.9% with the "Big Four" banks losing between 0.3% and 1.1%.
Heavy weight mining stocks .AXMM gained as much as 0.3%, boosted by the rise in global iron ore prices on recovering demand in top buyer China.
Mining behemoth BHP Group BHP.AX rose 0.4%, while smaller peer Rio Tinto RIO.AX gained 0.8%.
Energy stocks .AXEJ traded flat, as global oil prices fell on weak U.S. fuel demand. O/R
Top oil and gas firm Woodside Energy WDS.AX fell 0.1%, while Santos lost 0.7%.
Healthcare sector .AXHJ slipped 1.1%, while information stocks .AXIJ declined as much as 1.7%, tracking the fall in the U.S. tech firms.
The sub-index was on track for its worst day since May 17, if current trends hold.
Across the Tasman sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 gained 0.7% at 0043 GMT.
Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich
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