Australian shares fall again; banks and retailers lead declines

Australian stocks fell 26 points, or 0.3%, to 9,089 in early trade Monday, extending losses for a fourth straight session to hit a two-week low.

Sentiment weakened after Wall Street’s retreat Friday, driven by a soft U.S. retail sales report and declines in tech shares.

Investors also stayed cautious ahead of key data from top trading partner China later today, including July industrial output, retail sales, and the surveyed unemployment figures.

Locally, Q2 housing lending in Australia slipped to a three-quarter low, though the pace of decline eased from the prior period.

Meanwhile, July labor data is due later this week following June’s steady jobless rate.

Sectoral weakness was broad, led by retail trade, consumer non-durables, manufacturing, and transport.

Two of the four big banks slipped between 1.5% and 3.8%.

Notable decliners included Suncorp Group (-4.6%), Westfarmers Ltd. (-2.9%), Pro Medicus (-2.4%), and Technology One (-1.4%).