The Australian equity market closed lower on Friday, 21 June 2019, , as investors opted to take profits following recent advances, with selling compounded by the anxiety over Sino-US trade negotiations, and fresh worries about the Middle East, after Iran shot down a US military drone. At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index dropped 36.63 points, or 0.55%, at 6,650.79 points, while the broader All Ordinaries sank 33.65 points, or 0.5%, at 6,734.30.
Investors' focus has now shifted to a meeting between US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping during a Group of 20 summit in Japan next week, with hopes that they can put negotiations back on track to de-escalate a trade war. Trump said that he would decide whether to carry out his threat to hit Beijing with tariffs on at least $300 billion in Chinese goods after the meeting.
Meanwhile, fears of a military confrontation in the Middle East Gulf were raised after Iran shot down a U. S. military drone. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it shot down a U. S. drone over Iranian airspace.
U. S. officials said the drone had not violated Iranian airspace. The drone shooting follows an attack last week on two oil tankers near the Gulf of Oman. The New York Times reported that U. S. President Donald Trump had approved military strikes on Friday against Iran in retaliation, but pulled back from launching the attacks.
Also late Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration prohibited U. S. carriers from flying over Iranian-controlled parts of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, over fears of a jetliner accidentally being shot down.
Financial stocks were lower, with the country's big four banks easing 0.4% to 1.2%.
Metals and mining stocks closed higher. Iron ore miners BHP Group and Fortescue Metals Group climbed 0.4% and 1.7%, respectively, while Rio Tinto closed 0.1% higher.
Biotherapeutics company CSL Ltd, the fourth-largest stock on the ASX 200, ended 3.2% down after it flagged lower Chinese sales in 2020 due to a change in its distribution model.
CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar inclined against the U. S. dollar on Friday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6922 after rising from levels around $0.688 in the previous session.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)