Australian shares slip as Westpac mortgage woes weigh; all eyes on RBA decision

Westpac Banking

10/08/2026 08:05

Updates to close
RBA policy decision on Tuesday
Westpac falls 6% on weak quarterly update
Miners up 1.4%, gold stocks rise 2.6%
By Anjali  Singh
August 10 (Reuters) - Australian equity benchmark ended lower on Monday, dragged by blue-chip Westpac after the bank reported a sharp decline in mortgage applications, while investors awaited the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy decision later this week.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 0.3% to 9,232.60 points, still close to its all-time high of 9,296.70 points hit on Thursday.
Westpac WBC.AX plunged nearly 6% to a one-month low after the bank posted a 20% fall in mortgage applications and projected investor housing credit growth to halve next year, as the Labor government's tax changes weigh on property demand.
"We'd characterise it (Westpac update) as roughly two-thirds macro signal, one-third company-specific," said Kai Chen, director at MPC Markets. "Westpac is the first major to flag it, and the market is pricing in the risk that CBA, ANZ, and NAB see similar mortgage-application softness and slower investor lending growth when they update."
The financials sub-index .AXFJ slid 2.3% to its lowest level since late July, with the rest of the "Big Four" banks falling between 1.7% and 2.4%.
Rate-sensitive stocks will be the focus on Tuesday when the central bank delivers its policy decision. Markets widely expect the RBA to hold rates, with the tone of its statement to be of interest. #AUDIRPR
"Capital is clearly rotating out of rate-sensitive financials and into miners and gold as a hedge," Chen said. "Sentiment heading into tomorrow is more 'wait and see' than nervous: positioning looks tactical, not defensive."
The broader mining sub-index .AXMM rose 1.4%, while gold stocks .AXGD added 2.6%.
BHP BHP.AX and Rio Tinto RIO.AX gained 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively. Gold miners Evolution Mining EVN.AX and Northern Star Resources NST.AX also jumped 2.4% and 1.4%.
Healthcare stocks .AXHJ rose 1.5%, while technology stocks .AXIJ gained 0.6%.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.5% to 13,888.24 points.

(Reporting by Anjali Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)
((anjali.singh2@thomsonreuters.com;))