Australian shares slip as miners drag; investors assess inflation data
Aug 29 (Reuters) -Australian shares slipped lower on Thursday, dragged by losses in miners, after investors reeled back from interest rate cut hopes as local inflation data remained above forecasts for July.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 0.5% to 8,034.7, as of 0048 GMT. The benchmark ended flat on Wednesday.
The U.S. S&P 500 index .SPX was mostly unchanged on Wednesday, while Nasdaq .IXIC lost 198.79 points, or 1.12%. S&P 500 E-minis futures EScv1 were down 32 points, or 0.57%. .N
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR rose to 3.8387% compared with its previous close of 3.841%.
Australian inflation slowed to a four-month low in July, data showed on Wednesday, as government rebates on electricity bills kicked in. But the July report showed there is not much further progress on goods disinflation.
Investors have now dialled back hopes of a first easing from the Reserve Bank of Australia in November.
The Aussie dollar AUD= was 0.11% weaker against the U.S. dollar to A$0.68 on Thursday.
Miners .AXMM were the biggest laggards, falling 1% amid broad-based declines.
Mining giants Rio Tinto RIO.AX, BHP Group BHP.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX declined between 0.6% and 1.5%.
South32 S32.AX fell 0.7%, after the world's biggest producer of manganese posted a 59% drop in its annual profit.
Bucking the trend, financial stocks .AXFJ rose 0.3%, with the 'Big Four' banks gaining between 0.2% and 0.5%.
Wesfarmers WES.AX was down 2%, as sales growth in the conglomerate's major segment Bunnings moderated in the first eight weeks of fiscal 2025.
Qantas Airways QAN.AX dipped 0.4%, after the airline reported a 16% decline in annual profit.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.8% to 12,371.52.
Air New Zealand, the country's flagship carrier, reported a 61% slump in annual profit while warning of a challenging outlook ahead, sending its shares down as much as 3.6%.
Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich
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