Australian shares slipped 67 points, or 0.7%, to 9,120 on Friday morning, falling for a third straight session to their lowest level in more than a week. Sentiment remained under pressure from escalating tensions between the US and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, after US Treasury Secretary Bessent warned of unprecedented measures against Tehran, pledging “economic isolation like the world has never seen.”
On the domestic front, caution intensified ahead of Q2 home loan figures, with the previous release showing a 4.3% qoq decline and underscoring the drag from higher interest rates. Investors are also looking to July labour market data due next week, following an unchanged unemployment rate in June.
Losses were broad-based, led by technology, non-energy minerals, industrials, and transport stocks. Heavyweights BHP Group and Evolution Mining each fell 3.3%, while Northern Star Resources lost 2.7%. QBE Insurance tumbled 5.1% despite reporting a modest increase in first-half profits. For the week, the market is on track for its first weekly decline in three weeks, currently down about 1.5%.
