Miners, hawkish cenbank comments weigh on Aussie shares Mining stocks hit lowest in 21 months Gold stocks fall over 2.5% AMP hits near 11-month high Updates to close By John Biju and Aaditya GovindRao Aug 8 (Reuters) - Australian shares retreated on Thursday, dragged down by heavyweight mining stocks as iron ore prices extended losses for a third consecutive session, while hawkish comments from the country's central bank added to the losses.

BUZZ-Australian mining stocks hit over 1-1/2-year low on weak iron ore prices ** Australian mining stocks .AXMM fall as much as 2.2% to hit their lowest level since Nov 4, 2022 ** The sub-index on track for its fifth consecutive session of losses ** Prices of iron ore futures fell for a second consecutive session on Wednesday, undermined by weak ne

Australian shares fall as commodity-related stocks drag; AMP shines Aug 8 (Reuters) - Australian shares opened lower on Thursday as mining and energy stocks lost ground, while money manager AMP jumped to the top of the benchmark stock index after reporting a higher profit for the first half. The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 0.7% to 7,646.7 by 0048 GMT, after closing 0.3% higher on Wednesday.

Miners, financials pull Australian shares lower; New Zealand stocks gain Aug 7 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell in choppy 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.

BUZZ-Australia's Sparc Technologies gains on pilot plant commencement ** Shares of Sparc Technologies SPN.AX rise as much as 15.2% to A$0.190, set to gain most since May 21 - if current gains hold ** The graphene tech co commences front-end engineering and design (FEED) for its pilot plant, planned to be located in Adelaide ** Co says, Sparc Hydrog

RPT-BREAKINGVIEWS-Green hydrogen fever gets needed doses of reality The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own. By Antony Currie MELBOURNE, Aug 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Hot air is seeping out of the green hydrogen bubble. Over the past five years fans of the low-carbon gas have argued it can replace fossil fuel in everything from industrial processes to heating homes to transport.

Western Australian job losses dent Australia's green ambitions Western Australia sees 2% of mining sector jobs hit in July Critical minerals processing plant expansions put on ice BHP says Australia at an inflection point MELBOURNE, Aug 1 (Reuters) - A downturn in the critical minerals sector that has triggered a wave of job losses in Australia's top earning resources state has also struck a blow to the country's hopes to build out a critical minerals processing sector.

Australian stocks scale peak for second straight session; miners, real estate firms rise ASX 200 hits record high again Miners log second session of gains Real estate firms extend rally RBA rate decision awaited next week Updates to close By Shivangi Lahiri and Sameer Manekar Aug 1 (Reuters) - Australian shares ended at an all-time high for a second consecutive session on Thursday, as investor confidence remained strong after a measure of inflation ruled out chances of a potential rate hike next

BUZZ-Aussie miners rise as iron ore prices snap losing streak ** Australian mining sub-index .AXMM rises as much as 1.4% to its highest level since July 19 ** Sub-index logs second straight session of gains ** Sub-index tracks rising iron ore prices buoyed by Rio Tinto's RIO.AX optimistic demand outlook for China IRONORE/ ** RIO's peers BHP Group B

BREAKINGVIEWS-Green hydrogen fever gets needed doses of reality The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own. Refiles to fix advisory formatting. By Antony Currie MELBOURNE, Aug 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Hot air is seeping out of the green hydrogen bubble. Over the past five years fans of the low-carbon gas have argued it can replace fossil fuel in everything from industrial processes to heating homes to transport.

BRIEF-Fortescue Appoints Noel Pearson As A Non-Executive Director Aug 1 (Reuters) - Fortescue Ltd FMG.AX : NOEL PEARSON HAS BEEN APPOINTED TO FORTESCUE BOARD AS A NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. Further company coverage: FMG.AX

Aussie shares close at record high after benign inflation rules out rate hike ASX200 adds 4% in July Financials at record-high; July best month in 2024 Miners recover; down 1.5% for the month Rio Tinto up 2.5%; first-half profit in-line NZ50 closes higher; adds about 6% in July Updates to close By Sameer Manekar and Rajasik Mukherjee July 31 (Reuters) - Australian shares ended at their all-time high on Wednesday , boosted by broad-based gains across sectors, after lower-than-expected second-quar

UPDATE 2-BHP says iron ore supply not affected by minor rail car incident Adds BHP comment in paragraphs 2-3, additional context throughout MELBOURNE, July 31 (Reuters) - BHP's BHP.AX iron ore supply has not been affected after a minor incident at a railyard near Port Hedland in Western Australia, the company said on Wednesday. “A single rail car has come off the tracks at low speed and a second has partially derailed during a shunting exercise at our Port Hedland yard this morning," a BHP spo

Asia Morning Call-Global Markets July 31 (Reuters) - Stock Markets Net Chng Stock Markets Net Chng S&P/ASX 200** 7,953.20 -36.40 NZX 50** 12,391.05 +77.43 DJIA 40,712.64 +169.12 NIKKEI** 38,525.95 +57.32 Nasdaq 17,178.021 -192.18 FTSE** 8,274.41 -17.94 S&P 500 5,433.20 -30.34 Hang Seng** 17,002.91 -235.43 SPI 200 Fut 7,949.00 35.00 STI** 3,441.77 -2.41 SSEC** 2,879.30 -12.55 KOSPI** 2,738.19 -27.34 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bonds Bon

Mining stocks weigh on Aussie shares; Fortescue slumps Miners slump to near 2-year low Fortescue at lowest since mid-Nov 2022 BHP down on joint takeover of Filo Corp Tech, energy indexes down NZ50 closes 0.6% higher 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.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Commodities slip, stocks steady ahead of Fed, BOJ rate decisions Updates prices By Tom Westbrook SINGAPORE, July 30 (Reuters) - Oil prices hit seven-week lows on Tuesday as a softening demand outlook weighed on commodities, while bond, currency and stock markets traded cautiously ahead of central bank meetings in the U.S. and Japan and a slew of major corporate earnings reports.

Australian corporate profits' decline to accelerate this year, says UBS July 30 (Reuters) - Australian companies will likely post a steeper drop in profit this year than they did last year, as they struggle to match the 'abnormally high' earnings since the COVID-19 pandemic, UBS said on Tuesday. The profits at companies listed on the benchmark S&P ASX 200 .AXJO index are likely to decline 3.5% in fiscal 2024, steeper than the 2.9% decrease last year, the brokerage estimated.

BUZZ-Aussie mining stocks hit 1-1/2-yr low; Fortescue drags ** Australian mining sub-index .AXMM slips as much as 2.1%, hitting its lowest level since Nov. 7, 2022 ** Sub-index set for worst day since June 11 ** Iron ore futures prices retreated on Tuesday, as a lacklustre steel market and soft economic data from top consumer China weighed on investor sentiment IRONORE/ ** Shares of Fortescue FMG.AX down as much as 9.2%, lowest since Nov.

Fortescue shares slump to 21-month low on $1.24 bln discounted block trade July 30 (Reuters) - Shares of Australia's Fortescue FMG.AX fell more than 9% on Tuesday to hit their lowest levels in 21 months, after stocks worth A$1.9 billion ($1.24 billion) were sold in a discounted block trade overnight. The stock declined as much as 9.2% to A$18.47, its lowest since November 2022, and looked set to mark its worst session since June 2022 amid weakness across the mining sector.

BUZZ-Fortescue hits 21-month low after report investor seeks to sell $1.2 bln worth shares ** Shares of Australia's Fortescue FMG.AX fall as much as 9.1% to A$18.5, their lowest level since November 2022 ** An institutional investor seeks to sell A$1.9 bln ($1.24 bln) worth of shares via block trade, the Australian Financial Review reported on Mond