Banking stocks drag Australian shares lower; OZ Minerals surges
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Aug 8 (Reuters) – Australian shares slipped on Monday, pulled down by banking stocks, although a surge in OZ Minerals after the miner rejected a $5.7 billion unsolicited takeover proposal from BHP Group limited losses in the benchmark index.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was down 0.3% at 6,997.70 points, as of 0034 GMT. The benchmark ended 0.6% higher on Friday.
In other key markets, Japan’s Nikkei .N225 fell 1.4% at 28,169.51 and S&P 500 E-minis futures EScv1 edged 0.2% lower.
Lifting investor anxiety over aggressive rate hikes, data from the U.S. July employment report on Friday blasted past expectations, raising the odds of continued policy tightening from the Federal Reserve.
Back home, financials .AXFJ were among the top losers on the Australian bourse, shedding 0.2%. Three of the “Big Four” banks dropped between 0.2% and 0.6%.
Shares of Suncorp Group SUN.AX fell 3.3%, following a 37% drop in the insurer’s full-year cash earnings.
Technology stocks .AXIJ tracked their Wall Street peers lower and lost 0.4%. Investment services provider Computershare CPU.AX and software maker Xero XRO.AX were down 0.9% each. .N
On the upside, OZ Minerals OZL.AX soared 34.5%, and was on track to record its best day since April 2001, after it said BHP Group’s takeover offer was “highly opportunistic”, but significantly undervalued the nickel and copper miner.
Demand is growing for metals such as nickel and copper, key components in electric vehicle batteries and components.
Miners .AXMM climbed 1.2% and were set to mark their highest level in more than a month on strong iron ore prices. IRONORE/
Shares of heavyweights BHP Group BHP.AX, Rio Tinto RIO.AX and Fortescue Metals FMG.AX rose between 0.5% and 1.9%.
Energy stocks .AXEJ advanced 0.7% after oil prices settled higher on Friday, with Woodside Energy WDS.AX and Santos STO.AX rising 0.9% and 0.4%, respectively.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.2% to 11,702.73 points.
($1 = 1.4482 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Upasana Singh; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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Aug 8 (Reuters) – Australian shares slipped on Monday, pulled down by banking stocks, although a surge in OZ Minerals after the miner rejected a $5.7 billion unsolicited takeover proposal from BHP Group limited losses in the benchmark index.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was down 0.3% at 6,997.70 points, as of 0034 GMT. The benchmark ended 0.6% higher on Friday.
In other key markets, Japan’s Nikkei .N225 fell 1.4% at 28,169.51 and S&P 500 E-minis futures EScv1 edged 0.2% lower.
Lifting investor anxiety over aggressive rate hikes, data from the U.S. July employment report on Friday blasted past expectations, raising the odds of continued policy tightening from the Federal Reserve.
Back home, financials .AXFJ were among the top losers on the Australian bourse, shedding 0.2%. Three of the “Big Four” banks dropped between 0.2% and 0.6%.
Shares of Suncorp Group SUN.AX fell 3.3%, following a 37% drop in the insurer’s full-year cash earnings.
Technology stocks .AXIJ tracked their Wall Street peers lower and lost 0.4%. Investment services provider Computershare CPU.AX and software maker Xero XRO.AX were down 0.9% each. .N
On the upside, OZ Minerals OZL.AX soared 34.5%, and was on track to record its best day since April 2001, after it said BHP Group’s takeover offer was “highly opportunistic”, but significantly undervalued the nickel and copper miner.
Demand is growing for metals such as nickel and copper, key components in electric vehicle batteries and components.
Miners .AXMM climbed 1.2% and were set to mark their highest level in more than a month on strong iron ore prices. IRONORE/
Shares of heavyweights BHP Group BHP.AX, Rio Tinto RIO.AX and Fortescue Metals FMG.AX rose between 0.5% and 1.9%.
Energy stocks .AXEJ advanced 0.7% after oil prices settled higher on Friday, with Woodside Energy WDS.AX and Santos STO.AX rising 0.9% and 0.4%, respectively.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.2% to 11,702.73 points.
($1 = 1.4482 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Upasana Singh; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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