Australia shares fall after NAB results offset miners, Middle East tensions drag
The index slipped 1.6 per cent last week
Australian shares declined on August 17 as a series of weaker earnings, including those of National Australia Bank (NAB) and JB Hi-Fi, outweighed gains in mining and energy stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 0.3%, settling at 9,084.10 by 0053 GMT. Last week, the benchmark had dropped 1.6%. The third week of earnings season began with NAB suffering a 4.8% plunge following a 15% drop in third-quarter Australian home loan applications compared to the second quarter.
This negatively impacted banking stocks, which declined 1%, while the 'Big Four' banks remained in the red, except Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which stayed flat. Despite this, miners rose up to 1.5% as iron ore prices increased on Friday. Gold stocks also climbed 2.4% after bullion prices were poised for a weekly gain. Energy stocks followed the trend, surging 1% as crude oil futures rose over $1 a barrel on Friday.
However, investor confidence waned as no interim peace deal materialized between the US and Iran, and talks regarding oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained impasse. JB Hi-Fi's shares approached their lowest point since late March 2020 after its total sales at the Australian business slipped 0.5% in the first month of fiscal 2027.
Meanwhile, Dairy producer a2 Milk plummeted as much as 10.2% after reporting a 44% drop in full-year profit.
Written by urgent.news from The Business Times - Companies & Markets's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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