Updates to close

By Sameer Manekar and Aaditya GovindRao

July 30 (Reuters) -Australian shares retreated on Tuesday, weighed down by the heavyweight mining index that sank to a near two-year low on lower metal prices, with mining giants BHP Group and Fortescue being the top drags.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO ended 0.5% lower at 7,953.2 points. It is, however, headed for an over 2% monthly gain.

The mining index has fallen sharply over the last few weeks due to a recent downturn in the prices of base metals on high inventory levels and as demand concerns from top consumer China continue to persist.

The sub-index .AXMM has lost 17% in 2024 and is the worst performing sector so far.

"Until we see a turn in underlying commodities, the ASX miners will remain under pressure, Damian Rooney, director of institutional research sales at Argonaut, said, adding that corporate earnings, starting next month, "will show the way" forward.

UBS on Tuesday said it expects Australian companies to likely post a steeper drop in profit in fiscal 2024 as they struggle to match 'abnormally high' earnings from the pandemic era.

The mining index lost 2% to close at its lowest level since early November 2022, with BHP Group BHP.AX losing 1.3% after announcing a C$4.5 billion ($3.25 billion)joint takeover of developer Filo Corp FIL.TO.

Fortescue FMG.AX, the world's fourth-largest iron ore miner, fell over 10% to its lowest level since mid-November 2022, after reports that Capital Group offloaded its stake worth A$1.9 billion ($1.24 billion) at a discount.

Traders now await Australia's second-quarter inflation print and retail sales data, due on Wednesday.

While investors do not expect the central bank to hike interest rate further from an already 12-year-high, the inflation data will prove crucial in solidifying those bets. 0#RBAWATCH

Meanwhile, the tech .AXIJ and energy .AXEJ indexes were down around 1%, with gold miners .AXGD losing more than 1%.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 ended 0.6% higher at 12,391.05 points.

($1 = 1.5272 Australian dollars)

($1 = 1.3847 Canadian dollars)

Reporting by Sameer Manekar and Aaditya Govind Rao in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema

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