Australia's share market closed lower, with the ASX 200 falling 55.80 points, or 0.64 percent, to 8,722.90, and the broader All Ordinaries down 54.80 points, or 0.61 percent, to 8,931.40. Seven of the market's 11 sectors finished the session in the red.
Banks weigh on the index
The big four banks were the heaviest drag. Commonwealth Bank fell 2.36 percent to 160.73 dollars, ANZ lost 2.49 percent to 34.47 dollars, NAB dropped 2.30 percent to 36.99 dollars and Westpac slid 1.45 percent to 34.70 dollars. The selling followed fresh data showing the largest monthly fall in house prices since 2022, which investors read as a warning sign for future mortgage lending volumes.
Coles hit by a double blow
Consumer staples also weighed on the market, led by Coles, which dropped 4.19 percent to 23.35 dollars. The supermarket chain was hit after the competition regulator blocked its plans for a Kalgoorlie store expansion, on the same day reports emerged that Coles is separately in talks to buy pet care group Greencross. Woolworths eased 1.80 percent to 39.31 dollars and A2 Milk slipped 1.87 percent to 7.34 dollars.
Healthcare provided some offset, with CSL climbing 3.16 percent to 118.37 dollars, even as Sigma Healthcare and Pro Medicus each edged slightly lower.
Takeover activity lifts individual names
Away from the broader index, a handful of stocks tied to corporate deals posted sharp gains. Magellan jumped 11.97 percent to 10.85 dollars after completing its merger with Barrenjoey, South32 rose 9.74 percent to 4.28 dollars following the sale of its aluminium business to Alcoa for 9.8 billion dollars, and Perpetual surged 16.77 percent to 18.10 dollars before trading was halted pending an update on a control proposal. The Australian dollar slipped slightly against its US counterpart, last trading near 0.6894.
