Monday saw a fall in Australian shares following three consecutive days of gains, as mining firms slumped on weak underlying commodity prices and index heavyweight banks pulled down.
By 2334 GMT, the S&P/ASX 200 index had down 0.5% to 8,222.2 points in light year-end trade.
Despite investor concerns over an uneven economic rebound in Australia’s largest trading partner, China, the benchmark has risen 8.4% so far this year, pushing it toward a second consecutive session annual gain.
The “Big Four” banks had losses ranging from 0.1% to 0.5% on Monday, as financials lost 0.6% following three consecutive sessions of gains.
At its first policy meeting of 2025, investors anticipate that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will begin the interest rate-cutting cycle.
In light of the RBA’s dovish stance and the minutes from its December meeting, JP Morgan analysts anticipate a quarter-point rate drop in February.
After iron ore prices fell to a more than five-week low on Friday due to a drop in China’s steel production, Australian miners saw a 0.1% decline.
Rio Tinto increased 0.3%, Fortescue fell 0.3% while mining behemoths BHP fell 0.1%.
Oil prices closed higher on Friday, supported by a significant reduction in U.S. crude oil inventories, but energy stocks defied the trend, up 0.7% and heading for a fifth consecutive session of gains.
Santos gained 0.8%, while Woodside increased 1%.
On the back of declining bullion prices, gold stockpiles fell 0.2%. Evolution Mining gained 0.2%, while Northern Star Resources experienced a 0.5% decline.
The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index for New Zealand dropped 0.2% to 13,172.3 points following a four-session winning run.
