FX.co ★ Australian Equities Extend Slide as Week Opens

Australian stocks fell 84 points, or 1.0%, to 8,547 in early trading on Monday, extending losses to a second session and touching their lowest level since early April. Sentiment was hit by Friday’s sharp decline on Wall Street and mounting concerns over a possible further escalation in the Middle East after President Trump’s warning to Iran. Investors also turned cautious ahead of the release of April activity data from China, Australia’s largest trading partner, including industrial production and retail sales figures due later today. Domestically, attention this week will focus on Australia’s flash PMI readings for May, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s meeting minutes, and April labor market data. Sector-wise, transport, communications, process industries, and consumer-related shares led the declines, while healthcare, consumer services, and energy minerals helped cushion overall losses. Among the notable laggards were BHP Group (-2.6%), Goodman Group (-2.7%), and Northern Star Resources (-4.1%). Brambles Ltd. slumped 14.9% after it cut its underlying profit growth target, citing earnings headwinds from repair capacity constraints.