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Mining stocks hit seven-week low
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Qantas hits lowest level since Jan. 3
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Rio Tinto hits lowest level in a week
(Updates to close)
By John Biju
Feb 23 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell for a third
straight session on Thursday dragged down by mining stocks,
while investors fretted over the prospect of more rate hikes
from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 0.4% at 7,285.4 points. The benchmark shed 0.3% on Wednesday.
Minutes from the latest Fed policy meeting showed a majority of policymakers agreed to slow the pace of rate increases, but also indicated that curbing high inflation would be the "key factor" in how much further rates need to rise.
A host of recent economic data underscored the resilience of the U.S. economy, boosting expectations that further rate hikes might be needed to tame inflation.
Earlier this week, central banks of Australia and New Zealand signalled more rate hikes in the coming months.
Equity markets have really started to feel the pressure from a hawkish Fed and the earning season in Australia, Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG Australia said.
Australian mining stocks shed 1.8%, hitting their lowest since Jan. 6, weighed down by losses in heavyweight miners Rio Tinto and BHP Group . Rio Tinto and BHP Group dropped 1.7% and 3.4%, respectively. Financial stocks dipped 0.2%, with National Australia Bank , ANZ Group and Westpac Banking Corp trading in the red.
Energy stocks lost 0.6%, with subindex majors Santos and Woodside Energy losing 1.3% and 0.6%, respectively.
Technology stocks and Healthcare stocks ended the session in green.
Among individual stocks, Australia's biggest airline Qantas fell 6.8% after warning sky-high fares would moderate as it and competitors added more flights. Air New Zealand fell more than 1.2% after flagging macro and inflationary risks.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index climbed
0.8% to 11,888.5 points.
(Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng)
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