Australian shares ticked lower on Monday to halt a 4-session long winning streak as mining and energy stocks fell ahead of minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) July policy meeting.
The S&P/ASX 200 index slide 0.1% to 7,298.5 points at close of trade.
Traders will closely assess minutes of the RBA’s July policy meeting on Tuesday for insights into its future rate trajectory.
A Reuters Poll suggests the central bank could deliver a 25 basis points rate hike in August, following its decision to keep rates steady this month.
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Meanwhile, the country’s June unemployment rate data is due on Thursday, wherein a “strong labour force number could make a 25% hike likely”, said IG’s Tony Sycamore.
Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers, however, on Sunday forecast an increase in the nation’s jobless rate from near a 48-year low due to higher interest rates and slowing global growth.
On the domestic bourse, miners edged down 0.9% and snapped a four-session rally, as traders weighed a mixed bag of economic data from China against hopes for more stimulus.
Shares of Whitehaven Coal Ltd rose 2.7% as the company met the lower-end of its full-year outlook despite reporting a 20% slump in fourth-quarter production.
Energy stocks crept 0.8% lower as a slowdown in China’s GDP growth in the second quarter fuelled concerns about demand in the world’s No. 2 oil consumer.
Heavyweights Woodside Energy and Santos slumped 0.9% and 1.8% respectively.
Banks, meanwhile, jumped 0.4% and touched an 11-week high. Three out of the “big four” banks added between 0.4% and 0.7%.
Sector major consumer stocks Wesfarmers added 0.6% while Aristocrat Leisure edged up 1.5%
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.6% at 11,938.92.
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