Banks and commodities drag Australian shares lower ahead of RBA decision

Australian shares fell on Tuesday, dragged down by commodity and banking stocks, as cautious traders awaited the central bank’s decision on interest rates.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.4% to 7287.9 ​​by 0032 GMT. The benchmark index closed 0.6% higher on Monday.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is expected to keep interest rates unchanged at its meeting later today, as inflation in the country shows signs of easing, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

National Australia Bank analysts said in a note that the view that “further monetary policy tightening may be necessary” should be maintained and that inflation data over the next two months could prompt the RBA to move in a tightening direction.

Mining stocks fell 1.0%, with the sector’s main players, BHP Group and Rio Tinto, falling 0.5% and 1.1%, respectively.

Gold shares fell 1.4% to their lowest levels in a week.

Heavy banking stocks fell 0.4%, with the “big four” banks losing between 0.1% and 0.5%.

Westpac Banking Corp fell 0.5% after the Australian corporate regulator said it would bring legal action against the bank over its alleged failure to respond to customer financial hardship notices between 2015 and 2022, within required administrative deadlines.

Energy stocks fell 0.6%, with shares of major sector players Woodside Energy and Santos falling 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively.

Packaging company Orora Ltd said it will acquire French luxury bottle maker Saverglass from private equity firm Carlyle Group for an enterprise value of A$2.16 billion (€1.40 billion). Orora shares have been suspended since August 30.

Qantas Airways shares rose 0.2%, after the main Australian airline announced that its CEO, Alan Joyce, will leave his position two months earlier than expected, as the airline faces reputational problems.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell by 0.4% to 11,472.15 points.