Australian shares struggled to find traction as gains in financials and miners offset losses in IT and gold sectors. Investors were also uneasy about the US economic picture following Fitch’s Tuesday downgrade of the US government’s credit rating.
Australian shares losses in tech: After a two-session decline, the S&P/ASX 200 index was unchanged at 7,312.80 as of 00:41 GMT. After advancing for three consecutive weeks, it has decreased by around 1.1% so far this week.
The White House responded angrily to the ratings agency Fitch’s decision to lower the US government’s top credit rating, sending markets into a defensive posture and reigniting investor concerns about global economic growth.
In the meantime, figures released on Thursday revealed that Australian retail sales volumes decreased once more in the June quarter as rising borrowing costs and cost-of-living pressures reduced consumer purchasing power.
Mining stocks rose 0.8% in Sydney, led by sector leaders BHP Group and Rio Tinto, which rose 1.2% and 1.1%, respectively.
The so-called “big four” banks saw gains ranging from 0.3% to 0.7%, helping financial stock prices rise by 0.5%.
Technology equities were last down 1.1% and were following their Wall Street peers lower. Shares of Block, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, plunged 11.1%, while Xero Ltd. experienced a loss of 1.1%.
The lower bullion prices caused a 0.7% decline in gold stocks, with Northern Star Resources and Newcrest Mining both down 1.1% and 0.1%.
Following overnight increases in oil prices due to Saudi Arabia and Russia’s commitment to reducing output until next month, energy inventories increased by roughly 1.3%.
Santos Ltd. shares and Woodside Energy shares both saw gains of 1.5% and 0.6%, respectively.
In business news, Australia’s competition watchdog rejected ANZ Group Holdings’ request for permission to acquire Suncorp Group’s banking division for A$4.9 billion ($3.21 billion).
ANZ Group’s stock increased 0.9%, while Suncorp Group’s dropped 1.6%.
The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index for New Zealand remained essentially unchanged at 11,942.41.