Miners drag Australian shares lower on weaker iron ore prices
July 8 (Reuters) -Australian shares started the week lower on Monday, as miners weighed on the benchmark index due to falling iron ore prices, while investors awaited crucial U.S. inflation print later in the week.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 0.3% to 7799.00 by 0015 GMT. The benchmark fell 0.1% on Friday.
Miners .AXMM dropped 0.8%, as iron ore prices fell on falling hot metal output weighing on sentiment. IRONORE/
Heavyweight miners BHP Group BHP.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX fell 0.8% and 1.4%, respectively.
Globally, investors await U.S. inflation data for June to gain a better understanding of the Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory, after recent jobs data boosted market expectations of a rate cut.
U.S. jobs data released on Friday, showed unemployment reached a 2-1/2-year high, signalling towards a veering labour market that keeps the Fed on course to start cutting rates soon.
Back in Sydney, energy stocks .AXEJ lost 0.6%, eyeing their worst day since June 27, after oil prices declined as likelihood of a ceasefire agreement in Gaza began to outweigh the summer's high demand for fuel and the risk of supply disruptions from storms in the Gulf of Mexico. O/R
Top energy producer Woodside Energy WDS.AX fell 0.4%, while Santos STO.AX declined 0.8%.
Financials .AXFJ fell 0.2%, tracking the broader index, with the country's biggest lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX down 0.3%.
Bucking the trend, gold stocks .AXGD rose as much as 1.9% to hit their highest level since June 11 and the sub-index was set to rally for a fifth consecutive day, as bullion prices rose after recent U.S. jobs report solidified expectations of a September rate cut. GOL/
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.5% to 11,730.42.
Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich
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