Australian shares gave up their early lead after the country's quarterly inflation rate fell for the first time in years.
Here's a quick recap:
- S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) down 0.6% to 5,187 points
- ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) down 0.6% to 5,253 points
- AUD/USD at US 76.22 cents
- Iron Ore at US$62.78 a tonne, according to the Metal Bulletin
- Gold at US$1,244.12 an ounce
- Brent oil at US$46.24 a barrel
The Australian dollar plunged immediately after the release of the ABS data which showed a 0.2% decline in consumer prices during the quarter. Meanwhile, the share market ended deep in the red after rising as much as 1.2% earlier.
The banks were among the hardest hit. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) all lost more than 2%, while Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) fell 1.5%.
Meanwhile, BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) lost 0.6% and 2.1%, respectively, with Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) shedding 2.8%.
Select Harvests Limited (ASX: SHV) shares were hit hard as well, falling 6%.
The gold sector was one of the few shining lights for the broader market. Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) shares gained 2.7%, while St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) lifted 3.7% and 3.6%.
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