Falling commodity prices weighed on mining stocks. Index heavyweights BHP, Fortescue and Rio Tinto all retreated, falling 1 per cent, 1.1 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively.

Iron ore was down 2.1 per cent to $U107.65 a tonne, Brent crude fell 1.1 per cent to $US77.53 a barrel and spot gold slipped 1 per cent to $US2326.79 per ounce.

On the flipside, Treasury Wine Estates (up 6.3 per cent) recorded the strongest gains after it reaffirmed its forecasts ahead of an investor day in the United States. TWE said it expects its Californian luxury wine business, Daou Vineyards, to generate EBIT of $US24 million ($36 million) in this financial year.

Other mega-cap advancers were Meridian Energy (up 5.9 per cent), Pro Medicus (up 3.2 per cent) and Seek (up 3.5 per cent).

Whitehaven Coal (down 3.9 per cent) was the weakest large-cap stock in early trade, followed by GQG Partners (down 3.5 per cent), Newmont (down 3.1 per cent) and Alumina (down 3.6 per cent).

Medibank shares fell 1.5 per cent after Australia’s privacy watchdog, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), sued the health insurance giant following its October 2022 data breach, alleging the company breached the nation’s privacy laws and exposed its customers to a risk of identity theft, extortion and financial crime.

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Overnight on Wall Street, US stock indexes ended up higher after a US Labor Department report showed job openings were down to 8.05 million in April, the lowest since 2021. The data was the latest in a string of reports showing a slowdown in the US economy, leading markets to expect an earlier start to interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

“The evidence is accumulating that the Fed should begin easing” its monetary policy, said Ronald Temple, chief market strategist at Lazard. “Fewer workers are quitting each month, clearly signalling fewer opportunities to earn higher wages by switching jobs.”

The S&P 500 edged up 0.2 per cent to 5291.34. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite also added 0.2 per cent.

US bonds climbed amid the rate cut speculation. Expectations for a September rate reduction now stand around 65 per cent, versus below 50 per cent last week, according to the CME’s FedWatch tool. Treasury 10-year yields extended a four-day plunge to almost 30 basis points, falling six basis points to 4.33 per cent.

Oil fell to the lowest in about four months after OPEC+’s plan to loosen its production curbs this year deepened the market’s bearish sentiment. Copper slid below $US10,000. Bitcoin topped $US70,000.

“The absence of corporate news suggests a sideways trending market, which seems to be where we are right now. Strong year-to-date returns are a reason for some near-term profit-taking, and certainly some portfolio rebalancing,” said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at US Bank Wealth Management.

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Oil companies Exxon Mobil and Chevron dropped 1.6 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively, as demand concerns weighed on crude prices.

Bath & Body Works slumped 12.9 per cent after a lower revision to its quarterly profit forecast.

Axos Financial, which has lent to properties including former President Donald Trump’s flagship New York tower, lost 4.2 per cent after Hindenburg Research said it was short the stock because of the bank’s exposure to problematic commercial real estate loans.

Paramount Global lost 4.4 per cent after the streaming firm said it was exploring strategic options or a joint venture for the Paramount+ streaming service.

With Reuters and Bloomberg

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