Australian shares retreated on Monday, weighed down by losses in financial and energy stocks, as investors awaited minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) last policy meeting to assess the interest rate outlook.
The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.5% to 7,243.4 by 0046 GMT after closing 1.3% higher on Friday.
The Australian central bank is scheduled to release the minutes of its Sept. 5 meeting on Tuesday. Investors will look for interest rate clues, with inflation still running above the central bank’s target range of 2%-3%.
Globally, investors are awaiting the US Federal Reserve policy decision on Wednesday where the central bank is widely expected to pause interest rates.
Traders’ bets on the Fed holding rates steady on Sept. 20 remained at 97%, while odds for a pause in November stood at 67%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Back in Sydney, interest rate-sensitive financial stocks retreated 0.5%, with the so-called “big four” banks falling between 0.2% and 0.9%.
Energy stocks slumped 0.9%, while technology stocks , which closely track their Wall Street peers, fell 2.4%.
Heavyweight mining stocks edged 0.1% higher, while gold stocks rose 1.3%.
Among individual stocks, Costa Group Holdings fell 2.2% after private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners reduced its non-binding takeover offer for shares it does not already own, valuing the horticulture company at A$1.49 billion ($958.4 million).
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.2% to 11,369.07.
Shares of A2 Milk fell 1.2% after the company said it had given notice to Synlait Milk that it was cancelling its exclusive manufacturing and supply rights for certain infant milk formula products.