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Miners lead losses on the ASX
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Financials slip 0.7%
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U.S. jobless claims rise, manufacturing data slumps
(Updates to close)
By Mehr Bedi
April 21 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed lower on
Friday, weighed by financials and miners as market participants
looked for cues on the monetary policy path ahead amid gloomy
earnings reports from major U.S. companies and lingering fears
of a global recession.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 0.4% at 7,330.40.
The benchmark index lost 0.4% of its value this week.
Investors are assessing the path for further interest rate
hikes. They fear that a slowing U.S. economy could prompt the
Federal Reserve to start cutting rates later this year as the
central bank juggles its fight against inflation.
Overnight figures showed more Americans filing claims for
jobless benefits and manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic
region slumping to its lowest level in nearly three years.
"The U.S. data has kept our market suppressed," said Brad
Smoling, managing director of Smoling Stockbroking, adding that
hawkish comments from the Fed governors have also spooked the
market.
Miners topped the list of losers on the bourse,
sliding 1.7% on falling iron-ore prices. BHP Group Ltd , the world's largest listed miner,
fell 2.3% after downgrading its full-year production forecast
for Escondida copper and nickel.
Mining giants Rio Tinto Ltd and Fortescue Metals
Group Ltd slipped 2.8% and 4.2%, respectively.
Financials tracked the broader negative sentiment as
recessionary fears outweighed the benefits of a high-cash rate
environment.
The sub-index fell 0.7%, with all of the "big four" lenders
falling between 0.5% and 1.2%
Energy companies rose 0.6%. However, oil and gas
major Woodside Energy Group Ltd fell as much as 2%
before flatlining at close after its total revenue fell 16%
sequentially.
Gold stocks gained 0.2%, capping losses on the
benchmark as bullion prices firmed above the $2,000 level on
Thursday. Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50
index rose 0.4% to finish the week at 11,927.50.
(Reporting by Mehr Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann
Thoppil)
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