The Australian sharemarket finished at its lowest levels since 4 August on Friday, extending its losing streak to a fourth straight session as investors pared back expectations for interest rate cuts from both the Reserve Bank of Australia and the United States Federal Reserve.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index slid 118.90 points, or 1.4%, to 8,634.5, with nine of the 11 industry sectors finishing in negative territory.
Technology stocks were the hardest hit, with the sector tumbling 4.4%. Xero lost 3.9%, WiseTech Global shed 4.6%, TechnologyOne fell 1.1% and Life360 posted losses of 6.7%.
Financials also faced pressure, declining 1.9%, with Commonwealth Bank down 1.8%, NAB falling 1.7%, ANZ shedding 2.6% and Westpac ending 1.6% lower.
The sell-off followed Thursday’s surprisingly strong domestic jobs report, which further reduced the likelihood of another RBA rate cut.
Mining giants were dragged lower as well, with Rio Tinto and BHP down 1.4% and 1.3%, respectively, while Fortescue Metals dipped 1%.
Gold miners slumped in tandem with a 0.6% pullback in spot gold prices overnight, with Evolution Mining down 2.4%, Newmont sliding 3.4% and Northern Star losing 1.9%.
However, the Energy sector finished 0.2% higher, with Santos gaining 1.2% and Woodside advancing 0.3%.
Among individual stocks, Bio-Gene Technology climbed 3.6% to $0.029 after receiving organic listing status in the United States.
Virgin Australia slipped 0.6% after reaffirming guidance for first-half growth following a solid first quarter, noting that capacity growth would slow to 2% in the second half.
On the bond markets, yields edged lower. The 10-year and 2-year Australian government bond yields slipped 0.1% and 0.8%, respectively, to 4.444% and 3.699%.
