Australian shares fell 118 points, or 1.3%, to 8,950 in early trade on Wednesday, extending their losing streak to a third straight session and hitting a one‑month low. Sentiment was weighed down by overnight losses on Wall Street, where a jump in bond yields and higher oil prices rekindled concerns over inflation and further interest rate hikes.
Domestically, investors turned cautious ahead of today’s Q2 GDP release, with growth expected to remain subdued after the weakest quarterly expansion in a year. Attention is also on July trade data due Thursday, following June’s sharp export rise and soft import figures.
Losses were broad-based, led by commercial services, non‑energy minerals, healthcare, and consumer stocks. Major miners were a key drag, with BHP Group down 2.8% and Rio Tinto off 1.3%, while Northern Star Resources fell 4.7%, Evolution Mining dropped 4.2%, and Pro Medicus slipped 3.6%. The big four banks also edged lower.
Energy stocks were a notable exception, helping to limit the market’s overall decline. Woodside Energy gained 2.0%, and Santos rose 1.3%, bucking the broader downward trend.
