Australian shares fall as bleak U.S. data dims risk appetite

Bigtincan Holdings

02/12/2022 24:49

Dec 2 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Friday,
tracking losses on Wall Street overnight, as a contraction in
U.S. manufacturing activity for November overshadowed mild
easing in inflation and solid consumer spending.
    The S&P/ASX 200 index  .AXJO  fell 0.4% to 7,326.90 by 2351
GMT, on track to snap a three-day rally. The benchmark closed
0.9% higher on Thursday.
    S&P 500  .SPX  and Dow Jones  .DJI  slid on Thursday after
data showed U.S. manufacturing activity contracted for the first
time in 2-1/2 years in November as higher borrowing costs
weighed on demand.  .N 
    In Australia, energy stocks  .AXEJ  fell 0.8% as Brent crude
oil futures settled lower.  O/R 
    Heavyweights Woodside Energy  WDS.AX  and Santos  STO.AX  
declined 1.1% and 0.1% respectively.
    Coronado Global Resources  CRN.AX  slid as much as 7.2%,
making it the top loser on the ASX 200, after the coal miner
flagged persistent rains in Queensland had impacted production
volumes and mining costs per tonne at Curragh Coal Mine. 
    Financials  .AXFJ  dipped 0.9% with the "Big Four" banks
losing between 0.4% and 0.9%.
    Miners  .AXMM  slipped 0.3% as Dalian iron ore futures
inched lower.  IRONORE/ 
    BHP Group  BHP.AX  and Rio Tinto  RIO.AX  fell 0.5% and
0.3%, respectively. Fortescue Metals Group  FMG.AX  gained about
0.1%
    Local gold stocks  .AXGD , meanwhile, jumped 2.6%, making
them the top percentage gainers on the benchmark. Gold prices
rose on the prospect of slower rate hikes from the Federal
Reserve and signs of cooling U.S. inflation.  GOL/ 
    Newcrest Mining  NCM.AX  and Northern Star Resources
 NST.AX  jumped 3% and 2%, respectively.
    Tech stocks  .AXIJ  and property stocks  .AXRE  fell 0.2%
and 1.9%, respectively.
    In other news, Bigtincan Holdings  BTH.AX  surged as much as
14.7%, making it among the top gainers on the ASX All Ordinaries
Index  .AORD , after it got an A$441.9 million ($301.07 million)
buyout bid from private equity firm SQN Investors.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N32R42W
    New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index  .NZ50  fell 0.6%
to 11,588.17.
($1 = 1.4678 Australian dollars)
 (Reporting by Echha Jain in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)
 ((Echha.jain@thomsonreuters.com))
 
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