The Australian stock market faltered, retreating from record-level highs as major players in the mining and banking industry dragged down the benchmark, shifting investor focus to the upcoming central bank’s monetary policy meeting.
The S&P/ASX 200 index declined by 1.8% to conclude at 7,704.200, sliding from the all-time closing record of 7,847.00 from the previous Friday.
This marks the end of a three-day upward trend and results in its poorest performance since early July of the preceding year.
Banking sector shares faced a significant downturn, ending the day 2.2% lower - their worst intraday decline in over 10 months.
The ‘Big Four’ lenders each experienced losses exceeding 2%.
Westpac Banking Corp witnessed a decline of approximately 3.2% - their steepest decline since May 11 of the prior year.
Similarly, National Australia Bank saw a decrease of approximately 3.1% in what marked its worst day since Nov.
14, the preceding year.
Mining sector shares slid by 2.7% reaching their lowest point since October of the previous year.
Commodity giants such as BHP Group, Rio Tinto, and Fortescue endured losses between 2.7% and 3.5%, making them the primary contributors to the benchmark index’s drop.
Brad Smoling, managing director of Smoling Stockbroking, suggested that the market may be experiencing ‘a bit of profit-taking at this stage,’ and deemed the sell-off a ‘healthy little pull back.’ Investors are keeping a keen eye on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) monetary policy meeting set for the coming week.
The bank is widely predicted to maintain its current cash rate, even in light of mounting evidence that the high borrowing rate has taken effect as planned.
ANZ analysts predict a rate cut by the RBA in November but do not rule out the possibility of the bank initiating its easing measures earlier given the recent slight dip in inflation and higher unemployment rates than anticipated.
Energy stocks closed 2.1% lower in response to concerns over weak demand from China coupled with persisting geopolitical uncertainties.
Prominent energy firms such as Woodside Energy and Santos were also affected, shedding 2.4% and 2.1% respectively.
Healthcare stocks dropped by 1.6%, and real estate stocks concluded 1.1% lower.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index also suffered a decline of 0.4%, ending the session at 11,873.6700.
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) is one of Australia’s ‘big four’ banks and offers a broad range of banking and financial services.