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Miners lead losses
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CBA reports rise in Q3 profit
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Australian budget in focus
(Updates to close)
By Nausheen Thusoo
May 9 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell marginally
lower on Tuesday, dragged down by mining stocks, while a gain in
financials helped cap losses as the country's biggest lender
posted a rise in quarterly profit, ahead of Australia's annual
budget.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.2% to 7,264.1-points at the close of trade. In Sydney, financials became the only sub-index trading in positive territory after the Commonwealth Bank of Australia posted a 8.3% rise in third-quarter profit.
However, Brad Smoling, managing director of Smoling Stockbroking said that "banks are under a lot of pressure right now and there is a possibility of them being under pressure in the upcoming quarter as we can see Australians are really starting to struggle paying back their mortgages and business debts."
Australia is set to deliver its first budget surplus in 15 years later in the day, as its coffers bulge with tax windfalls from higher commodities prices and wages, giving it room to dole out cost-of-living relief amid an inflation squeeze on households. Investors are also keenly awaiting the U.S. consumer inflation report on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last week said that policy decisions will be "driven by incoming data," while signalling a likely pause in the rate-hike cycle. "With a slew of information still coming out, the market is trying to digest all the macro information" Smoling said.
Export-reliant miners toppled 0.4% to become the biggest laggard on the index.
Sector heavyweights BHP Group Ltd , Rio Tinto Ltd and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd traded in the
red.
Healthcare and gold stocks took away 0.6%
and 1%, respectively, from the benchmark.
Energy companies fell 0.3%, while tech stocks were down 0.7%.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.4%
to finish the session at 11,889.61 points.
(Reporting by Nausheen Thusoo in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia
Cheema)
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