Australian Shares Close Slightly Lower
2026-02-10 00:18
By
Czyrill Jean Coloma
1 min. read
The S&P/ASX 200 closed slightly lower at around 8,867 on Tuesday, trimming earlier gains as a late sell-off in heavyweight CSL dragged the index.
The healthcare giant slid nearly 5% to over one-month low after announcing that Chief Executive Paul McKenzie will retire after a three-year tenure.
Adding further pressure to the index, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and ANZ Group declined between 0.7% and 2.4%.
Meanwhile, Macquarie Group rose 0.8% after reporting a higher Q3 profit.
In addition, Treasury Wine Estates jumped 3.5% after reaching a settlement with a major US distributor that had planned to exit the lucrative California market.
On the economic front, consumer sentiment fell 2.6% month-on-month to a ten-month low of 90.5 in February 2026, as a 25 bps rate hike renewed pressure on household finances.
Offering a brighter signal, NAB’s Business Confidence Index edged up to 3 in January 2026 from a downwardly revised 2 in December, marking its highest reading since October.