Australian shares slip as miners, gold stocks weigh
Australian shares slip as miners, gold stocks weigh Updates to close
By Aamir Khalid
July 7 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed lower on Tuesday, pressured by weakness in mining and gold stocks, though support from bank and technology companies helped limit the benchmark's losses.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO ended 0.3% lower at 8,803.90 points, extending its fall from the previous session, when it slipped 0.2%.
Risk appetite remained muted in the second week of the new fiscal year, assessing global inflationary pressures stemming from the Middle East conflict and an unpredictable interest rate path.
The U.S. Federal Reserve has signalled possible rate hikes, while the Reserve Bank of Australia has left the door open to further tightening.
"The market is quite subdued at the moment having just started a new financial year whilst we await full or half year corporate results in August, September," said Craig Sidney, senior investment adviser at Shaw and Partners.
Gold stocks .AXGD shed 4.3%, tracking a decline in bullion prices. GOL/
Shares of gold miners Northern Resources NST.AX and Evolution Mining EVN.AX shed more than 5% each.
Miners .AXMM followed suit, losing 2.8%.
On the other hand, banks .AXFJ gained 1.3% to end at their highest point in two months.
"The banks appear to be having a short term recovery after being sold down quite heavily in mid June," Sidney said.
WiseTech Global WTC.AX surged as much as 11.4%, clocking its highest level in nearly a month, after the logistics software provider said co-founder Richard White would step down as executive chair.
WiseTech was one of the top performers on the bourse and propelled tech stocks .AXIJ 2% higher.
Energy stocks .AXEJ declined 1.3%, while healthcare stocks .AXHJ edged 0.1% lower.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 closed flat at 13,762.79 points. Investors braced for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's policy meeting due on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Aamir Sheik Khalid in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
((Aamir.SheikKhalid@thomsonreuters.com;))
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