Australian Stocks Retreat as Wall Street Slide Hits Sentiment

The ASX 200 lost 77 points, or 0.9%, to finish at 8,673 on Tuesday, extending last week’s slide and hitting its lowest since early July. Sentiment soured as U.S. stock futures dipped and the 10-year Treasury yield surged to a 2007 high around 5% ahead of the Fed’s policy meeting, with markets leaning toward a 25bp hike. Locally, traders priced in an 85% chance the Reserve Bank of Australia will lift rates later this month, with Governor Bullock set to testify that further tightening may be needed to tame inflation. In main trading partner China, August data showed mixed signals, with retail sales slowing and unemployment ticking up, though industrial output improved. Losses were broad, led by healthcare, non-energy minerals, and financials, but consumer sectors offered some support. The big four banks slid 0.4%–1.6%, while Macquarie (-2.8%) and BHP Group (-2.4%) also lagged. Gold miners dropped as bullion fell, with Northern Star Resources down 2.4% and Evolution Mining off 3.4%.

Australian shares fell 53 points or 0.6% to 8,697 in Tuesday morning trade, reversing modest gains from the prior session as overnight losses on Wall Street weighed on sentiment. A sharp selloff in AI stocks followed industry warnings of risks, while surging oil briefly pushed U.S. Treasury yields to 5%. Traders also turned cautious ahead of key releases from main trading partner China later today, including August new home prices, industrial output, and retail sales. Locally, cost pressures and expectations of prolonged Reserve Bank tightening persisted, with markets pricing a 90% chance of a rate hike this month. Healthcare, non-energy minerals, and energy minerals drove the weakness, though gains in consumers, logistics, and services helped limit losses. The big four banks slipped 0.5%–0.8%, while BHP Group (-2.3%), Macquarie (-1.9%), and Evolution Mining (-3.8%). In contrast, Wisetech Global (3.2%), Xero (3.0%), REA Group (2.1%), and CSL (1.2%) advanced.

The ASX 200 edged up to end at 8,750 on Monday, stabilising after four sessions of weakness. Consumer non-durables, commercial services, and retail trade were mainly higher, but losses in healthcare, non-energy minerals, and manufacturing capped gains. Bargain hunters entered after the Australian market hit near two-month lows, even as overall sentiment stayed cautious amid a drop in U.S. stock futures as oil prices surged following fresh Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and Iranian attacks on Gulf shipping. Traders also braced for the U.S. Fed’s policy meeting later this week and August activity data in top trading partner China due Tuesday. Northern Star Resources (2.5%), CSL Ltd. (2.7%), and Aristocrat Leisure (0.9%) advanced. Three of four big banks also rose. In contrast, heavyweight BHP (-0.5%) and Rio Tinto (-0.1%) eased with softer iron ore and copper prices. Mineral Resources (-4.4%), Evolution Mining (-3.2%), and Lynas Rare Earths (-2.8%) were also among notable laggards.