The RBA earlier this week reiterated that further rate increases would be needed to tame inflation, surprising markets by the hawkish tone and shattering expectations of an imminent pause to the tightening campaign.
Denting sentiment further, Fed officials, too, hinted that interest rates could stay higher for longer, overshadowing hopes that the U.S. central bank would soon pause its tightening cycle as the economy slows. Export reliant miners toppled 0.6%, becoming the biggest laggard on the benchmark after iron ore prices swung back and forth while investors reassessed near-term demand prospects in top steel producer China. Sector major BHP Group , Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals fell between 0.5% and 0.8%.
Financials descended 0.3%. All the "Big Four" banks have now increased their lending rates.
Energy stocks dipped 0.1%, with sector major Woodside Energy falling 0.4%.
Santos shares slipped 0.2% despite the company announcing that gas production from its John Brookes platform in Western Australia has resumed, following an over two-month long outage. Meanwhile, the country's top power producer AGL Energy tumbled 7.5% after its half-year profit fell 55% and it cut the top end of its annual earnings forecast range.
Gold stocks fell 0.8%, while tech stocks tracked Wall Street lower and dropped 1.1%.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.3% to 12,176.12 points. (Reporting by Nausheen Thusoo in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)
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