Dec 12, 2024 at 5:56 am GMT
- ASX200 hits 3-week closing low
- Discretionary firms, real estate stocks fall
- Local unemployment posts shock decline
- NZ50 slips 0.5%
Updates to market close
By Nikita Maria Jino
(Reuters)- Australian shares finished at a three-weekclosinglow on Thursday after a sharp decline in unemployment pushed investors to scale back their February interest rate cut bets, pressuring risk-prone equities.
The S&P/ASX 200 index. AXJO ended 0.3% lower at 8,330.3 points, the lowest close since Nov. 21. This was the benchmark's third consecutive session of losses.
Unemployment in the country declined sharply toan eight-month low in November, signalling to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) that the labour market was more resilient than expected.
Traders, who had been betting on a rate cut in February after a weak economic growth printlast weekanddovish commentsby the central bankon Tuesday, dialled backthe oddsto 50% from 68% after thejobs report.
Analysts now widely expect the first cut to be in May.
Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG, said the benchmark's fall today came as "markets reassessed the likelihood of an RBA rate cut in February following a solid November jobs report".
Adelaide Timbrell, a senior economist at ANZ, said, "Softer economic data from the recent national accounts (GDP) release raised the risk of a February cut, but this labour market result offsets that risk somewhat."
Banks. AXFJ were little changed, with the Commonwealth Bank of AustraliaCBA.AX, the country's largest lender, ending flat.
Miners. AXMM slipped marginally, with sector major BHPBHP.AXshedding 0.5%.
Technology stocks. AXIJ bucked the trend and tracked their Wall Street peers higher to gain 0.4%, snapping a four-day decline..N
Logistics software maker WiseTech GlobalWTC.AXclimbed0.7%, while accounting software maker XeroXRO.AXjumped 1.4%.
Discretionary retailers. AXDJ and real estate stocks. AXRE were pressured by a protracted rate cut trajectory.
Domino's Pizza Enterprises lost 3.9% and property manager Mirvac GroupMGR.AXdeclined 2.9%.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index.NZ50closed 0.5% lower at 12,692.72 points.
Reporting by Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy
Sumber : Reuters