November 2024

Australian shares pared early losses on Wednesday as the post-US election rally in global equities hit resistance. The S&P/ASX 200 was down 72 points, or 0.9%, at 8183, having fallen as much as 1.4% earlier. Financials led declines, sliding 1.9% amid market shifts pushing the RBA’s anticipated rate cut to September 2025. Commonwealth Bank dropped 1.6%, Westpac 1.8%, NAB 2.2%, and ANZ 4.6% as it traded ex-dividend.

The S&P/ASX 200 is down 0.6% or 47 points at 8218 near midday AEDT, extending Monday’s 0.4% decline. Mining stocks dropped 2%, with BHP down 2.1% to $40.77 after iron ore prices slipped 1.7% to around $US100 per tonne. Gold miners faced sharp losses as spot gold fell 2.3% to $US2622.62, prompting a sell-off in West African Resources, Emerald Resources, and Bellevue Gold, each down over 5%. Energy stocks also declined by 1%.

The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4% (36.3 points) to 8258.8 by midday, pressured by China’s underwhelming stimulus measures, which impacted already weakened mining and energy stocks. This dip followed last week’s 2.2% rally, spurred by a Wall Street surge after Donald Trump’s decisive election win.