The Australian sharemarket slipped on Tuesday as investors digested fresh political shocks from the United States and a mixed round of local earnings.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 36.8 points, or 0.41%, to 8,935.6, with eight of the 11 sectors in negative territory.
Sentiment tracked offshore weakness after United States President Donald Trump threatened higher tariffs in retaliation for digital services taxes and announced the removal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, citing “sufficient reason” to believe she made false statements on mortgage applications.
Mining stocks dragged on the index after Fortescue Metals reported a sharp earnings decline. The miner posted a 41% drop in full-year net profit to US$3.37 billion (A$5.2 billion), driven by weaker iron ore prices, and cut its dividend to the lowest level in seven years.
Fortescue shares fell 3.9%, BHP dropped 1.1%, while Rio Tinto closed flat.
By contrast, the Consumer Staples sector outperformed, led by supermarket giant Coles, which soared 8.5% after reporting sales across its supermarket network of A$44.487 billion.
Meanwhile, Scentre Group gained 1.5% as it reported solid interim results and lifted its second-half distribution guidance by 3% to 17.72 cents per security.
Tyro Payments slid 2.5% after posting a 30% fall in annual net profit, while Viva Energy dropped 1.9% as first-half benchmark profits slumped 67.4%, pressured by weak refining margins, an outage, and softer fuel margins in its convenience arm.
Bond markets were mixed, with 10-year yields rising 0.4% to 4.32% while 2-year rates eased 0.5% to 3.341%.
