Australian shares slipped on Monday, with all sectors trading in the red, after a mixed US jobs report failed to shed light on the extent of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts next week.
The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.8% to 7,947.4, as of 0037 GMT.
The benchmark lost 1% last week.
Data on Friday showed jobs growth in the US was below expectations in August, while the unemployment rate also fell, raising doubts on the size of the Fed’s rate cut at its meeting next week.
Investors will now look to US inflation data, due later in the week, for final clues before the central bank’s meeting.
Domestically, rate-sensitive financials led losses, dropping 1.3%, with the ‘Big Four’ banks all slipping between 1.3% and 2.1%. Westpac shed 2.1%.
The country’s third-largest lender appointed its new chief executive officer.
Healthcare companies slipped 0.9%, with CSL and Ramsay Health Care falling 1.3% and 0.9%, respectively.
Miners lost 0.2%, as iron ore prices hovered near a one-year low.
Energy and gold stocks were down 0.9% and 2%, respectively, amid a slump in underlying commodity prices.
Brent crude futures rose 1.11% to $71.85 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 1.2% to $68.48 per barrel.
Information technology firms slipped 0.6%, following a sell-off in their Wall Street peers.
Australian shares struggle for direction ahead of jobs data
On Friday, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 410.34 points, or 1.01%, at 40,345.41 points on Sunday.
The S&P 500 lost 94.99 points, or 1.73% while Nasdaq lost 436.83 points, or 2.55%.
Premier Investments fell as much as 8.1% and was set for its worst day in more than 4 years, after earnings from its retail brand fell short of market estimates. In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index shed 0.6% to 12,540.45.
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