Michael Barr, the Federal Reserve's banking regulator, told a Senate panel that Silicon Valley Bank did a "terrible" job of managing risk before its collapse. Major indexes on Wall Street closed lower overnight. Back in Sydney, financials fell 1.1% to hit their lowest level since last October, with all "Big Four" banks in the red. UBS downgraded price targets and ratings on several Australian lenders, including National Australia Bank and Westpac Banking Corp .
Economic print showed that local inflation rose lower than expected for the month of February.
Australia's corporate regulator commenced an investigation into ASX Ltd for oversight related to the failed replacement of the bourse operator's ageing clearing and settlement system. ASX was down 0.6%.
Healthcare and technology stocks added losses to the ASX200, falling 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively. ASX-listed shares of Block Inc and Xero fell 0.3% and 1%, respectively.
Real-estate stocks dropped 0.5%.
Commodity stocks lifted the sombre mood. Mining stocks gained 1.1% on the back of elevated iron ore prices overnight. BHP Group , Rio Tinto and Fortescue added between 0.3% and 1%.
Gold stocks gained as overnight bullion prices ticked higher. Northern Star Resources and Newcrest Mining jumped 1.8% and 1.6% respectively.
Energy companies also gained, rising 0.6%, owing to a jump in oil prices. Shares in Liontown Resources were trading flat after skyrocketing nearly 70% on Tuesday after the lithium miner snubbed Albemarle's $3.7 billion deal.
Pilbara Minerals rose 2.6% after the company approved a capital investment to increase production capacity at its flagship Pilgangoora lithium project in Western Australia. Across the Tasman sea, shares of Sky Network TV dropped 1.2% after the media firm said it would slash 170 jobs as a part of a wider restructuring.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.7% to 11,691.4 points. (Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru)
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