The Australian sharemarket lost ground on Tuesday, with shares of the big miners and the energy sector weighing heavily on the equities benchmark. The S&P/ASX 200 Index dipped 23.9 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 7737.1.
Consumer staples and financials were the strongest performing sectors. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare shares rose 2.4 per cent and medical equipment supplier EBOS 2 per cent. Commonwealth Bank shares jumped 1 per cent.Shares in mining heavyweight BHP dipped 1.2 per cent, Rio Tinto was down 0.8 per cent and Fortescue slumped 1.9 per cent. The energy sector – down 1.6 per cent – also weighted heavily on the benchmark index. Woodside and Santos shares were down 1.8 per cent and 2.
However, a negative GDP number may spook the market and the RBA because that would point to a mild recession on the horizon, Kodari said. Stocks of companies whose profits are most closely tied to the strength of the economy dropped. That included the oil-and-gas industry, as the price of crude tumbled on worries about weaker demand growth for fuel. Iron ore prices also retreated.