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Gains in tech stocks limit losses
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Miners and financials end in red
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NZ insurers face claims from Auckland flooding
(Updates to close)
By Nausheen Thusoo
Jan 30 (Reuters) - Australian shares ended down on
Monday, slipping from a nine-month high hit in the previous
session as miners and banks fell, while investors awaited U.S.
Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and the local central
bank's upcoming policy meeting.
The S&P/ASX 200 index finished 0.2% lower at
7,481.700, below Friday's closing level of 7,493.80, its highest
since April 22.
Investor will be closely eyeing the Fed meeting later this
week following data indicating economic resiliency, providing it
room to further slow the pace of its most aggressive monetary
tightening. Commenting on the previous upward trend in Australian
shares, Henry Jennings, senior analyst and portfolio manager at
Marcustoday Financial Newsletter, said it was possible that the
Australian benchmark will hit an all-time high by Easter.
"It is possible we have seen peak inflation and that the Fed and other central banks will raise there rates one more time and maybe then pause a little bit." The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is widely expected to raise rates by a quarter-point next Tuesday, with analysts at Westpac expecting similar hikes in March and May meetings, as domestic inflation pressures are seen subsiding through 2023. Among sectors, export-reliant miners were the biggest drag on the index after sliding 0.3%.
Rio Tinto lost 1.2% as its iron ore division chief apologised after a contractor lost a radioactive capsule in transit in Western Australia, which sparked a radiation alert across parts of the state. Financials plunged 0.3%, while healthcare stocks also ended in the red. Tech stocks , however, chased Nasdaq higher after gaining 2.3%. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was flat at 12,034.17. Major insurers operating in New Zealand have cumulatively received more than 9,000 claims so far following severe storms and flooding in and around the biggest city, Auckland. (Reporting by Nausheen Thusoo and John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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