Australia Shares Drop for 4th Session as Week Opens

Australian stocks fell 26 points, or 0.3%, to 9,089 in early trade Monday, extending losses for a fourth straight session to hit a two-week low. Sentiment weakened after Wall Street’s retreat Friday, driven by a soft U.S. retail sales report and declines in tech shares. Investors also stayed cautious ahead of key data from top trading partner China later today, including July industrial output, retail sales, and the surveyed unemployment figures. Locally, Q2 housing lending in Australia slipped to a three-quarter low, though the pace of decline eased from the prior period. Meanwhile, July labor data is due later this week following June’s steady jobless rate. Sectoral weakness was broad, led by retail trade, consumer non-durables, manufacturing, and transport. Two of the four big banks slipped between 1.5% and 3.8%. Notable decliners included Suncorp Group (-4.6%), Westfarmers Ltd. (-2.9%), Pro Medicus (-2.4%), and Technology One (-1.4%).

The ASX 200 slipped 73 points, or 0.8%, to close at 9,115 on Friday, marking its third straight retreat and lowest finish in over a week. Sentiment weakened as U.S. futures fell after President Trump imposed fresh tariffs on drone imports, with analysts pointing to China as the main target. Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Bessent Thursday warned of unprecedented measures against Iran, promising “economic isolation like the world has never seen. Locally, Q2 housing lending in Australia dropped to a three-quarter low, though the pace of decline eased from the prior period. Attention now turns to July labor data due next week, following June’s steady jobless rate. Heavy losses hit transport, industrials, healthcare, and non-energy minerals. BHP and Rio Tinto shed 3.4% and 2.9%, while three of the four major banks also pulled back. Gold miners lagged, with Evolution Mining down 4.0% and Northern Star off 3.2%. For the week, the market fell 1.6%, erasing gains from the prior three weeks.

Australian shares dipped 67 points or 0.7% to 9,120 on Friday morning, down for the third session to hit their lowest in over a week. The tug of war between the U.S. and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz continued to weigh on sentiment, with US Treasury Secretary Bessent warning of unprecedented measures against Iran, promising “economic isolation like the world has never seen”. Locally, caution grew ahead of Q2 home loan data after the prior reading showed a 4.3% drop qoq, highlighting the impact of elevated interest rates. Meanwhile, July labor market data will be released next week following a steady jobless rate in June. Most sectors fell, led by tech, non-energy minerals, industries, and transport. Heavyweight BHP Group and Evolution Mining dipped 3.3%, respectively, while Northern Star Resources dropped 2.7%. QBE Insurance plunged 5.1% following a modest rise in H1 profits. For the week, markets are set to post their first weekly drop in three weeks, retreating around 1.5% so far.