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Gold stocks down more than 2%
Miners fall over 1%
Whitehaven Coal shares jump over 5%
By Roshan Thomas
Sept 17 - Australian shares fell on Wednesday, dragged by mining and gold stocks on falling iron ore and gold prices, while investors closely watched domestic jobs data for August, due on Thursday, for clues on the local central bank's interest rate path.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.7% lower at 8,818.5 points. The benchmark had ended 0.3% higher on Tuesday.
With recent domestic data including and consumer spending showing strong upbeat sentiment, investors will look for labour market strength to confirm its sustainability.
The data will also help shape interest rate expectations, with markets assigning a 21% chance of a Reserve Bank of Australia rate cut in September, unchanged from last week. Traders are more optimistic about two reductions later this year.
The U.S. Federal Reserve is also expected to cut rates by 25 basis points later in the day, but the anticipation did little for Australia equities, as the cut had already been priced in, according to Anna Wu, Cross Asset Investment Specialist at VanEck Australia.
U.S. rate cut expectations are seen as supportive for the Australian economy, as they can boost global liquidity and risk appetite, potentially driving more capital flows into higher-yielding markets like Australia.
Miners led the fall on Wednesday by dropping more than 1%, tracking a fall in iron ore prices. Mining majors Rio Tinto and Fortescue lost 1% and 1.3% each.
Gold stocks dropped 2.1% as bullion prices took a breather from their rally.
Financials dropped 0.7%, a day after the sub-index logged gains of 0.2%.
The world's biggest listed miner BHP it will suspend operations and cut 750 jobs at a Queensland coking coal mine, sending shares down 1.1%.
However, Australian coal miners rose, as a suspension of operations would potentially reduce oversupply and likely support prices.
Whitehaven Coal was the top gainer on the benchmark index, gaining 5.2%. Yancoal Australia added 2.4%.
New Zealand S&P/NZX 50 index was flat at 13,228.38.
(Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
((Roshan.Thomas@thomsonreuters.com [Roshan.Thomas@thomsonreuters.com];))
