Australian shares fall as Middle East tensions weigh

Australian shares declined on Wednesday as uncertainty over Middle East peace talks persisted, even as the United States said it would indefinitely extend a ceasefire with Iran, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

However, losses were partly limited by gains in heavyweight miner BHP after it reported higher production.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.8% to 8,876.20 by 0025 GMT, after closing unchanged in the previous session on Tuesday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would extend the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely, just hours before it was due to expire. However, it remained unclear whether Iran or Israel would agree to the extension, as the announcement appeared unilateral.

Financial stocks weighed on the market, with the sector down 1.1%. The decline was led by Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country’s largest lender, which fell 0.8%. The remaining “big four” banks also dropped between 0.7% and 0.9%.

In contrast, BHP rose as much as 1.6% to a one-week high after reporting a 3% increase in third-quarter iron ore production and maintaining its full-year outlook.

Despite BHP’s gains, the mining sub-index still fell 0.7%, pressured by gold stocks as prices declined amid a stronger U.S. dollar.

Gold producers were among the weakest performers, with Evolution Mining dropping as much as 3.4% and Northern Star Resources falling 2.3%.

In corporate developments, Cochlear plunged as much as 38.6% to a decade low after cutting its earnings forecast for the year, citing demand disruptions linked to war. The sharp decline dragged the healthcare sub-index down as much as 4.3%, its lowest level since April 2018.

On the other hand, Treasury Wine surged as much as 19.8% after announcing plans to adopt a new regional operating model from October 1, aimed at simplifying its structure and reducing costs.

Energy stocks rose 0.4%, supported by strong performance in parts of the sector. Fuel retailer Ampol jumped 4.4% after reporting that refining margins at its Lytton refinery had more than quadrupled.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.5% to 12,865.03 points.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev