Australian equities fell 28 points, or 0.3%, to 9,042 in early trade on Wednesday, extending losses into a sixth straight session and hitting a two-week low. Sentiment was pressured by weaker U.S. stock futures after an overnight decline on Wall Street, driven by a global bond sell-off and rising oil prices.
Investors also turned cautious ahead of key domestic releases, including the Q2 wage price index due later today and July labor market data scheduled for Thursday.
On the ASX 200, consumer durables, financials, and logistics sectors led the declines, while gains in healthcare, energy minerals, and technology helped limit the downside. The four major banks dropped between 0.6% and 2.3%, reflecting pressure from a steep fall in home-loan applications following the May tax changes.
Among individual laggards, Goodman Group slipped 4.4%, Northern Star Resources lost 1.5%, and Evolution Mining declined 1.1%. In contrast, CSL climbed 4.0%, Santos rose 2.3%, and Woodside Energy gained 0.9%.
Traders are now focused on a speech by Reserve Bank of Australia Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser later in the day.
