SYDNEY/WELLINGTON: Australian shares fell the most in more than a month on Monday as top lender Commonwealth Bank plunged on a deal to sell its general insurance unit, while the US Federal Reserve’s hawkish shift hammered sentiment.
The benchmark ASX 200 index ended 1.8% lower at 7,235.3, moving further away from a record high hit last week.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia dropped over 5%, its sharpest fall in more than a year, after announcing the long-anticipated sale of its Australian general insurance business for about A$625 million ($468.8 million).
Riskier assets were also broadly weaker after Fed official James Bullard said on Friday that the US central bank might raise interest rates sooner than previously expected, spooking investors.
Miners also weighed on the resource-heavy bourse, with Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group down around 2.7% each as copper and iron ore prices retreated.
Retailers Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd and JB Hi-Fi Ltd slipped 1.7% and 0.5%, respectively, after data showed retail sales rose less than expected in May due to lockdowns in the second-most populous state of Victoria.
Across the Tasman sea, New Zealand’s benchmark NZX 50 index fell 0.4% to 12,499.36. A2 Milk Company Ltd was the top loser on the bourse, losing about 3.7%.
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