Australia Market slides 0.55%

The Australian share market finished session lower on Wednesday, 06 November 2019, snapping three-day winning streak, weighed down by steep falls technology, industrial, communications, discretionary retailers and gold miners. At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index declined 36.96 points, or 0.55%, to 6,660.16, while the broader All Ordinaries dropped 38.37 points, or 0.56%, to 6,773.25.

Shares in industrials and information technology sectors suffered heavy losses, with Waste management firms Cleanaway Waste and Bingo Industries led the industrials lower, sliding 3.4% and 2.9% respectively to close at A$1.835 and A$2.34. Some high-profile tech names were also hammered with Afterpay Touch tumbling 4.4% to A$25.94. Appen shed 7.9% to A$19.96, Nearmap 4.7% to A$2.45 while Altium slid 4.3% to A$31.34.

Gold stocks fell, dented by a fall in prices of the safe-haven metal, as increasing optimism over a US-China trade deal spurred investors' appetite for riskier assets.

Material sector was higher, thanks in part to a 1.5% gain in BHP Group shares which closed at A$37.50. Rio Tinto also added 0.3% to A$95.11 after Dalian and Singapore iron ore futures have drifted higher in Asia, sitting up 1.7 and 1.1% respectively from where they closed Tuesday's day session.

Financial stocks were mixed after the central bank left interest rates unchanged on Tuesday. The Reserve Bank of Australia held interest rates steady as expected at its policy review, as it gauged the impact of three cuts already delivered this year, while leaving the door ajar for further stimulus if needed. National Australia Bank (NAB) slipped ahead of its annual results due tomorrow.

CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar, sensitive to shifts in broader risk appetite, was little changed against greenback. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6887 after seeing an earlier low of $0.6881.

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