Australia shares fall amid broad-based sell off; GDP data in focus

Australian shares slid on Wednesday in a broad-based sell off, as lacklustre data from the US dampened market sentiment globally, while local investors awaited the country's gross domestic product (GDP) data.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 1.4 per cent to 7,989, as of 1225 GMT, eyeing its worst day since Aug. 5.

Market mood soured after data from the Institute for Supply Management revealed that although slightly improving in August from an eight-month low in July, US manufacturing remained muted, spurring concerns about the US economy.

While in Australia, investors await the country's second-quarter GDP report to better gauge the monetary policy stance of the local central bank, which is anticipated to demonstrate an annual growth rate of 1 per cent, as per LSEG data.

Any read in negative territory for the GDP could have a chilling effect on sentiment, and the share market, said Michael McCarthy, chief commercial officer at data brokerage platform Moomoo.

Heavyweight miners .AXMM led losses, falling 2.5 per cent, to hit lowest level since Oct. 31, 2022, following weaker iron ore prices. IRONORE/

Sector giants BHP Group BHP.AX and Rio Tinto RIO.AX were down 1.7 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively.

Energy stocks .AXEJ dropped 2.4 per cent to hit their lowest level since March 2022, as oil prices hit a nine-month low. O/R

Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell 0.2 per cent to $73.60 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 lost 0.28 per cent to $70.14 per barrel.

Sector major Woodside Energy WDS.AX fell 2.1 per cent, while smaller rival Santos STO.AX traded 2.9 per cent lower.

Technology stocks .AXIJ fell 1.8 per cent, tracking overnight losses in their Wall Street peers. .N

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 626.15 points, or 1.51 per cent, at 40,936.93 points on Tuesday. The S&P 500 .SPX, .SPX lost 119.47 points, or 2.12 per cent while Nasdaq .IXIC lost 577.33 points, or 3.26 per cent. .N

Shares of Xero XRO.AX fell 1.6 per cent.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.6 per cent to 12,451.27.