Australian shares dragged by miners, gold stocks; Rio Tinto drops

Tourism Holdings

21/01/2022 24:18

Jan 21 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Friday amid a
sell-off across sectors, as stocks of mining giant Rio Tinto
dropped, gold and mining companies dipped, and cases of the
Omicron coronavirus variant in the country continued to surge.
    The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index  .AXJO  was down 1% at
7,342.4 points by 2337 GMT, losing 1.6% for the week so far —
its worst weekly performance since Oct. 1.
    Investors' concerns grew after Western Australia cancelled
plans to reopen its borders on Feb. 5, citing health risks from
spiking Omicron cases elsewhere in the country.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2U042X
    Miners  .AXMM  led the declines on the ASX 200, shedding
2.5% to eye their first weekly loss after eight straight weeks
of gains.
    Global iron ore giant BHP Group  BHP.AX  lost 2.6% after its
investors in London and Sydney approved plans to scrap its dual
listing in favour of a main listing in Sydney.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2U00PX
    Meanwhile, rival Rio Tinto's  RIO.AX  shares dropped more
than 2.4% after Serbia revoked its lithium exploration licences
on environmental grounds. Rio was, however, set to gain for the
ninth straight week.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2U020W
    Gold stocks  .AXGD  fell 1.7%, dragged by Evolution Mining
Ltd's  EVN.AX  over 1.9% slide.
    Tech stocks  .AXIJ  were down 1.5%, hitting their lowest
since May 20, while the energy index  .AXEJ  slid 1.4% amid
weaker oil prices.  O/R 
    Coal miner Whitehaven Coal  WHC.AX  dropped 10.2% in its
worst session since Nov. 2. It was also one of the biggest
losers on the benchmark after posting a weak quarterly
production and subdued outlook for 2022.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2U047O
    Banking stocks  .AXFJ  followed suit, declining 0.7%. Major
lender Australia and New Zealand Banking Group  ANZ.AX  also
fell 0.7%.
    In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index  .NZ50  slid
0.9% to 12,497.1. Motorhomes seller Tourism Holdings Ltd
 THL.NZ  led losses, falling 2.8%.
    Elsewhere, the S&P 500 E-minis futures  EScv1  were down
0.5%.

 (Reporting by Yamini C S; editing by Uttaresh.V)
 ((Yamini.CS@thomsonreuters.com;))
 
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