Australian Shares Slide for Third Session

The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.2% to below 7,660 on Monday, sliding for the third straight session, with mining and energy stocks leading the decline amid softer commodity prices.

Markets look forward to policy decisions from the US Federal Reserve and the Reserve Bank of Australia this week, which are both expected to hold interest rates steady.

Investors also cautiously awaited a slew of economic data in China to gauge the health of Australia’s largest export market.

Losses in the commodity sector were led by Fortescue Metals (-1.4%), Pilbara Minerals (-0.4%), Woodside Energy (-0.9%), Northern Star Resources (-0.4%) and Santos (-0.3%).

Other index heavyweights also declined, including Telstra Group (-1%), Goodman Group (-2.2%) and Woolworths Group (-0.5%).