The Australian sharemarket declined on Monday, weighed down by banking stocks after disappointing earnings from Bendigo Bank and Westpac.
The S&P/ASX200 index dropped 18.7 points or 0.2% to 8,537.1, retreating from its record close of 8555.8 on Friday.
Despite seven of 11 sectors finished higher, with energy and financials leading declines.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank plunged 15.3%, marking its worst trading session ever, after reporting a lower net interest margin for the first half.
Westpac was also among the worst performers, sliding 4.1% after reporting a 9% drop in first-quarter net profit to $1.7 billion.
Other major banks followed suit, with ANZ down 0.4%, Commonwealth Bank slipping 0.3%, and National Australia Bank down 1.2%.
Among reporting companies, Australia’s largest steelmaker, BlueScope, surged 13% after CEO Mark Vassella noted that steel prices spiked 20% since Trump's tariff announcement a week ago.
Lendlease recovered from early losses, closing 0.5% higher after the company reported $48 million in statutory profit, reversing a statutory loss of $136 million in the prior corresponding period.
A2 Milk surged 19.7% after reporting a 7.9% increase in net profit to NZ$91.7 million, beating expectations by 10%.
Meanwhile, Star Entertainment surged 12.5% after private equity firm Oaktree offered to refinance $650 million of its debt.
On the bond markets, 10-year and 2-year rates were 1.2% and 1.4% higher at 4.459% and 3.867%, respectively.
