Miners, financials pull Australian shares lower; New Zealand stocks gain
Aug 7 (Reuters) -Australian shares fell inchoppy trade on Wednesday, dragged by miners and bank stocks, a day after the country's central bank kept interest rates steady at a 12-year high and ruled out cuts in the near term.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO lost 0.3% to 7,657.7 by 0027 GMT. The benchmark lost most of its gains from Tuesday to recoup steep declines triggered by a global sell off earlier this month.
The Aussie dollar fell 0.05% to A$0.65 against the U.S. dollar.
The Reserve Bank of Australia held interest rates steady for a sixth straight meeting on Tuesday and ruled out the possibility of a rate cut this year, citing inflation risks.
Heavyweight mining sector .AXMM lost 0.5% on Wednesday, hit by falling iron-ore prices. IRONORE/
Mining behemoths BHP Group BHP.AX, Rio Tinto RIO.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX lost between 0.6% and 1.1%.
Rate-sensitive financials .AXFJ dropped by 0.4%, with shares of three of the "big four banks" down between 0.4% and 0.8%.
Gold stocks .AXGD fell 0.9% onweak bullion prices. GOL/
Shares of gold miners Northern Star Resources NST.AX and Evolution Mining EVN.AX were down 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively.
Overnight, the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 294.39 points, or 0.76%, at 38,997.66. The S&P 500 .SPX, .SPX gained 53.70 points, or 1.04%, while Nasdaq .IXIC rose 166.77 points, or 1.03%.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell 0.3% to $76.25 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 lost 0.37% to $72.93 per barrel.
Energy stocks .AXEJ rose 0.5%, boosted by higher oil prices. O/R
In New Zealand, thebenchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.4% to 12,299.32.
Data showed that country's jobless rate increased in the second quarter, reducing capacity pressure in the labour market. An easing in tight labour market conditions will be good news for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
Reporting by Roshan Thomas and Ayushman Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich
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