Energy, real estate drag ASX lower

The ASX200 slipped 0.4 per cent, or 30 points, to close at 6,948.8 points. Utilities were the only sector to finish in the green, rising 0.3 per cent.

Similarly, the All Ordinaries finished lower, shedding 0.4 per cent to sit at 7,145 at the closing bell.

The Australian dollar is buying US63.59.

Energy stocks were the worst performers on the benchmark, dropping 0.9 per cent, with losses tracking the sell off in global oil prices.

Brent crude was trading near $US81 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was just below $77 as concerns over a broadening of the Israel-Hamas conflict to embroil the Middle East continue.

Sector heavyweight Woodside Energy lost 0.7 per cent to $31.81, Nexgen Energy dropped 0.9 per cent to $9.58, and Santos lost 1.7 per cent to $7.10.

At an address to banking executives in Sydney on Monday, the RBA’s acting chief economist Marion Kohler warned that getting inflation back to the central bank’s 2 to 3 per cent target band could be “bumpy” and take longer than anticipated.

“The next stage in bringing inflation back to target is likely to be more drawn out than the first. This has been the experience of some other advanced economies that have been a little ahead of Australia in this inflation cycle,” Dr Kohler said, speaking at the UBS Australasia Conference in Sydney.

“The recent increase in fuel prices is also a timely reminder that upside surprises from supply shocks could affect headline inflation. All to say, the road ahead could be bumpy.”

In company news, the takeover of Origin Energy hit another stumbling block after AustralianSuper, the largest shareholder in the energy retailer, voted against a Brookfield-led consortiums’ bid for the company.

On Monday, Brookfield and EIG wrote to AustralianSuper, offering the industry fund to join their bid, however the offer was swiftly rejected. Shares traded 1.5 per cent higher at $8.78.

ANZ fell 3 per cent to $24.70, after the nation’s third largest retail bank posted a full-year cash profit of $7.4bn, up 14 per cent from its 2021-22 result, missing core earnings estimates. The bank will pay a final dividend of 94c a share, partially franked, on December 22.

Shares in TPG Telecom sank 11.7 per cent to $4.81 after the firm announced it had ended discussions with Macquarie-backed rival Vocus Group for the sale of $6.3bn worth of its non-mobile fibre assets.

Elders had its best session since March 2022 after the agribusiness company posted an underlying earnings before interest and taxes of $170.8m, 3 per cent above consensus forecasts. Shares traded 18.29 per cent higher to $7.31

After updating its 2023-24 forecasts, Boral added 5.1 per cent to $4.93. The building materials producer upgraded its earnings before interest and taxes to $300-$330m, up from $270-$300m.

Metcash lost 0.3 per cent to $3.71. The food, hardware and liquor retailer announced that it was increasing its stake in Total Tools to 100 per cent, up from 85 per cent.