Sept 17 (Reuters) – Australian shares fell on Wednesday, led by losses in banks and miners, as investors remained cautious ahead of a key local jobs data on Thursday that could influence the country’s interest rate cut trajectory.
The S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 0.4% at 8,846.90 points, as of 0020 GMT. The benchmark index rose 0.3% on Tuesday.
Recent domestic data has been upbeat, with the economy growing at its fastest pace in nearly two years last quarter as consumers responded to lower borrowing costs.
Markets price in just 20% odds of a Reserve Bank of Australia rate cut at the September 30 meeting, assuming it will pause until November when fresh inflation data becomes available. This places much of the focus on local jobs data due on Thursday, which has remained strong in recent months.
Rate-sensitive financials slipped 0.4%, with National Australia Bank, Westpac and ANZ falling between 0.4% and 0.6%.
Heavyweight miners fell 0.5% as iron ore prices were subdued. Index majors BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue lost between 0.2% and 1.7%.
Gold stocks also shed 0.5% despite the bullion breaking above $3,700 an ounce price for the first time. Evolution Mining lost as much as 3%. Capping some losses, energy firms advanced 0.5% and are set for a third straight session of gains, tracking higher oil prices.
Whitehaven Coal and Karoon Energy were the top gainers on the subindex, rising as much as 4.4% and 3.9%, respectively.
Investors worldwide are now awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy decision at the end of its monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, where it is widely expected to cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points.
In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.4% to 13,186.82, with focus on Thursday’s GDP data expected to show a 0.3% quarterly contraction, supporting expectations for two more rate cuts by early 2026. (Reporting by Kumar Tanishk in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
