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Focus on minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting
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Domino's Pizza Enterprises top loser on benchmark index
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Origin Energy jumps 13% after receiving revised buyout
offer
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Rio Tinto profit plunges 38%
(Updates to close)
By Echha Jain
Feb 22 (Reuters) - Australian shares hit their lowest
level in more than one month on Wednesday led by miners, while
lingering fears of more interest rate hikes going into the U.S.
Federal Reserve's meeting minutes weighed.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.3% lower at 7,314.50,
its lowest level since Jan 12. The benchmark fell 0.2% on
Tuesday.
Investors would keenly assess the minutes from the U.S.
Federal Reserve's last meeting, due later in the day, for
further clues on its rate hike path.
"Any hawkish rhetoric in the release will be more than
capable to bring equity markets lower, said Glenn Yinn, head of
research and analysis at AETOS Capital Markets.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday
showed wages grew at the fastest annual pace in a decade last
quarter but missed market expectations.
The softer-than-expected data may not be enough to stop the
Australian central bank from hiking interest rates two more
times, analysts at RBC Capital Markets said in a note.
Miners fell 0.7% after iron ore futures fell following an extended rally sparked by optimism around a demand recovery in China. Sub-index heavyweight and mining giant Rio Tinto posted a 38% plunge in annual profit and more than halved its dividend, hurt by weaker iron prices as demand in China slowed. Financials slid 0.5% with Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank dropping 2.3% and 0.1%, respectively. Origin Energy advanced 13% after a Brookefield-led consortium trimmed its buyout offer by 1%, defying fears that the group would walk away from a potential deal in the wake of the Australian government's move to cap gas prices that hit valuations in the sector. Santos rose 3.1% after the country's No.2 independent gas producer lifted its final dividend by more than 77% and annual profit more than doubled on beefed-up LNG portfolio following its merger with Oil Search.
Domino's Pizza Enterprises slumped 24% topping the losers on the bourse after the Australian franchise of the global pizza chain reported a more than 28% slump in first-half profit. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index dipped 0.1%to 11,794.22.
The country's central bank raised interest rates by 50 basis
point (bps) to a more than 14-year high and warned of further
tightening.
(Reporting by Echha Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann
Thoppil)
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