Australia shares edge lower as miners, consumer staples drag in dull trade
Sept 3 (Reuters) -Australian shares fell in lacklustre trade on Tuesday, weighed down by mining and consumer staples stocks, while investors were cautious ahead of local economic data that could drive the country's monetary policy forward.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 0.4% to 8,078.5 by 0110 GMT. The benchmark rose 0.3% on Monday.
Trading was thin across the region, as markets in the United States were closed on Monday for a public holiday.
Market participants will await Australia's second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) report on Wednesday, which is expected to show a 1% annual growth rate, according to LSEG data.
Additionally, global investors will await a key U.S. labour report later during the week which will dictate the Federal Reserve's monetary policy stance.
In Sydney, heavyweight miners .AXMM continued to be under pressure, dipping as much as 0.5% after iron ore prices took a hit in top steel producer China. IRONORE/
Mining giants Rio Tinto RIO.AX and BHP Group BHP.AX fell 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively.
Discretionary consumer stocks .AXSJ slumped as much as 1.9% to hit their lowest since mid-August, with retail giants Woolworths WOW.AX and Coles COL.AX trading 3.5% and 2.0% lower.
Energy stocks .AXEJ fell 0.2%, while healthcare stocks .AXHJ slipped 0.6%.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell 0.31% to $77.28 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 gained 0.58% to $73.98 per barrel.
On Friday, the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 228.03 points, or 0.55%, at 41,563.08 points on Monday. The S&P 500 .SPX, .SPX gained 56.44 points, or 1.01% while Nasdaq .IXIC gained 197.19 points, or 1.13%. .N
Meanwhile, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.1% to 12,356.08 on Tuesday.
Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich
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