Australian shares log worst day in six weeks as Commonwealth Bank slumps

Tourism Holdings

15/02/2023 05:58

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      ASX200 closes at over one-month low
    

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      Banks drive losses as CBA slumps 5.7%
    

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      Fortescue falls 1.1%, Wesfarmers up 1.8%
    

  
 (Updates to close)
    By Rishav Chatterjee
       Feb 15 (Reuters) - Australian shares recorded their
worst day in nearly six weeks on Wednesday, pulled down by big
losses in banking stocks after Commonwealth Bank flagged
headwinds facing its mortgage business.
    The S&P/ASX 200 index  .AXJO  fell 1.1% to 7,352.2 points,
its biggest single-day decline since Jan 3. The benchmark closed
0.2% higher on Tuesday.
    The financials sub-index  .AXFJ  declined 3.4% to log its
worst session since June, with the so-called "Big Four" banks
trading 3.5% to 5.7% lower. 
    Australia's biggest lender CBA  CBA.AX  delivered record
profits on Wednesday, but shares tumbled 5.7% on concerns that
its margins may have peaked while headwinds to mortgage business
in a high-interest rate environment further weighed.  
    "Despite the likelihood of further interest rate hikes,
share price of big Australian banks are falling because their
net interest margins are under pressure due to intense
competition for home loans and deposits," said Tony Sycamore,
market analyst at IG Australia. 
    Overnight, data showed U.S. January consumer prices
accelerated, suggesting that the Federal Reserve was far from
pausing its interest rate hiking campaign.
    Technology shares  .AXIJ  declined 0.7%, while weaker
bullion prices sent gold stocks  .AXGD  lower. Mining stocks
 .AXMM  were broadly down 0.2%.
    Fortescue reported lower profit and dividends for the first
half and flagged persistent inflationary pressure. Its shares
closed 1.1% down.
    Meanwhile, Australia's biggest listed conglomerate
Wesfarmers Ltd  WES.AX  booked a better-than-expected interim
profit, boosted by a post-lockdown rebound at its Kmart chain.
Shares closed up 1.8%.
    Treasury Wine Estates  TWE.AX  slipped 6.8% in its worst
session since February 2021 after its earnings missed estimates.
    Star Entertainment  SGR.AX  topped gains on the ASX200
rebounding from a sharp sell-off in recent days, while GUD
Holdings  GUD.AX  and Cochlear  COH.AX  jumped on upbeat
results. 
    New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index  .NZ50  closed up
0.1% at 12,083.12 points, with gains led by Tourism Holdings
after it raised its annual forecast.  
 (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya
Ann Thoppil)
 ((Rishav.Chatterjee@thomsonreuters.com;))
 
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