Australian Stocks Slip from 11-Week Peak
Australian shares fell 40 points, or 0.4%, to 9,114 in early Thursday trading, ending a three-session run of strength and retreating from an 11-week high as traders booked profits. Sentiment weakened as U.S. equity futures fell amid turmoil at Nvidia, where reports of a possible leadership shake-up involving CEO Jensen Huang rattled the AI sector. Locally, weak Q3 lending indicators and consumer inflation expectations holding at a four-month high also weighed. Still, losses were capped by China's trade surplus exceeding USD 1 trillion for a second consecutive year in the first ten months of 2026, supported by strong AI-related demand. Tech, non-energy minerals, and consumer services led declines, while logistics, financials, and healthcare offered some support. Aristocrat Leisure (-5.9%), Genesis Minerals (-4.5%), and PLS Group (-3.4%) led losses. Meantime, BHP fell 1.2%, and Rio Tinto lost 1.4%. Among major banks, ANZ lost 2.0%, while CBA and Westpac rose 1.6% and 1.3%, respectively.
Australian shares fell 40 points, or 0.4%, to 9,114 in early Thursday trading, ending a three-session run of strength and retreating from an 11-week high as traders booked profits. Sentiment weakened as U.S. equity futures fell amid turmoil at Nvidia, where reports of a possible leadership shake-up involving CEO Jensen Huang rattled the AI sector. Locally, weak Q3 lending indicators and consumer inflation expectations holding at a four-month high also weighed.
Still, losses were capped by China's trade surplus exceeding USD 1 trillion for a second consecutive year in the first ten months of 2026, supported by strong AI-related demand. Tech, non-energy minerals, and consumer services led declines, while logistics, financials, and healthcare offered some support. Aristocrat Leisure (-5.9%), Genesis Minerals (-4.5%), and PLS Group (-3.4%) led losses. Meantime, BHP fell 1.2%, and Rio Tinto lost 1.4%.
Among major banks, ANZ lost 2.0%, while CBA and Westpac rose 1.6% and 1.3%, respectively.