Australia Shares Flat Ahead of Federal Reserve Decision

   By Robb M. Stewart 
 

MELBOURNE, Australia--Australian stocks ended slightly lower Tuesday as investors across the region remained wary at the start of the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting.

Resources counters fell sharply after oil prices extended losses and iron-ore dropped, countering modest gains in other industry sectors.

The S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.03% lower at 5346.20, after nudging down 3.6 points the day before.

"Despite the poor performance seen across the Asian region, the ASX has managed to grimly cling on around the 5350 level," said Angus Nicholson, a market analyst at IG in Melbourne, adding that another push higher by the region's markets likely would require a definitive signal from the Fed that interest-rate increases would be pushed to next year.

Among energy stocks, Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL.AU) fell 2.5%, Santos Ltd. (STO.AU) slipped 1.3% and Origin Energy Ltd. (ORG.AU) declined 3.6%.

Iron-ore producer Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FMG.AU) lost 9%, while diversified mining companies BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) and Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO.AU) were down 0.9% and 1.9%, respectively. South32 Ltd. (S32.AU) fell 1%.

The big banks were mixed, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AU) up 0.3% and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ.AU) rising 0.1%, but Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC.AU) down 0.2%. Shares in National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB.AU) were halted ahead of an announcement the company said was related to a "material transaction."

The focus will turn to banks on Wednesday when the NAB's trading halt is likely to be lifted and it is due to release full-year results. ANZ is set to turn in its annual numbers on Thursday, while Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQG.AU), which rose 0.8% Tuesday, is scheduled to report half-year results on Friday.

Link Administration Holdings debuted on the ASX with an 11% rally after the financial-administration services provider's initial public offering.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 27, 2015 02:20 ET (06:20 GMT)

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