Australian shares fall as Iress, miners drag

Altium

17/09/2021 02:06

Sept 17 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Friday,
dragged by mining stocks and a drop in software firm Iress
 IRE.AX  after it rejected a buyout bid, with worries of higher
COVID-19 cases denting sentiment.
    The S&P/ASX 200 index  .AXJO  fell 0.72% to 7,406.3 by 0019
GMT. 
    Australia's second-largest state reported its second-highest
daily rise in new infections this year, even as Prime Minister
Scott Morrison pledged more freedom for vaccinated citizens.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2QI2XE
    The top percentage loser on the benchmark index was Iress
Ltd  IRE.AX , down nearly 10%, after the company rejected a
buyout offer from Swedish private equity firm EQT for the third
time.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2QI3QU
    Mining stocks  .AXMM  tracked a near 4% drop in iron ore
prices to shed 3.81%. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd's  FMG.AX 
7.83% drop led the decline, followed by SSR Mining Inc  SSR.AX 
that lost 7.73%.  IRONORE/ 
     Gold stocks  .AXGD  fell 3.93%, with sector heavyweight
Newcrest Mining  NCM.AX  dropping over 3% as bullion prices
retreated on dollar strength and fears of an early tapering by
the U.S. Federal Reserve.  GOL/ 
    The energy index  .AXEJ  fell 1.66​%, as oil prices steadied
overnight after hitting a multi-week high a day earlier.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2QI07T
    Technology stocks  .AXIJ , however, rose 1.52%. Afterpay Ltd
 APT.AX  jumped 3.33%, followed by Altium Ltd  ALU.AX , up
2.49%.
    In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index  .NZ50  rose
0.59% to 13,156.4. 
    Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei  .N225  was up 0.18% at 30,377.9
while S&P 500 E-minis futures  EScv1  were down 8.75 points, or
0.2%. 
    

 (Reporting by Arundhati Dutta in Bengaluru; editing by
Uttaresh.V)
 ((Arundhati.Dutta@thomsonreuters.com;))
 
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