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Australian shares extend losses for second straight session

Australian shares extended losses for the 2nd straight session, dragged down by product stocks, a. day after the Federal Reserve signified fewer interest rate cuts. for next year.

The S&P/ ASX 200 index was down 1.1% at 8080.9 by. 0025 GMT. The criteria was on track to tape-record its worst week. considering that mid-April, having actually lost 2.4% so far. The benchmark fell. 1.7% on Thursday.

The U.S. Federal Reserve cut rates of interest by 25 basis. points as anticipated on Wednesday, while revising its forecast for. 2025, cutting the variety of projected rate decreases to two. from the 4 prepared for in September.

In Sydney, financials sub-index come by 1.5% for. the day, on track to record its 4th straight week of losses,. with the Big Four banks down in between 1% and 1.7%.

Miners lost 0.6% on the back of falling iron-ore. prices as issues about demand prospects in top consumer China. and the U.S. Federal Reserve's outlook for rate of interest cuts. next year weighed on sentiment.

Mining behemoths BHP Group and Rio Tinto. were down 0.7% and 0.3% respectively.

Gold stocks lost 1.7%, with shares of St Barbara. down 2.5%.

Sub-index leaders Northern Star Resources and. Development Mining slipped 1.5% and 2.3% respectively.

In company news, corporation Wesfarmers said it. would sell its industrial gas supply arm, Coregas, to Japanese. multinational company Nippon Sanso for A$ 770 million. ($ 480.33 million). Wesfarmers was down 1.7%.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/ NZX 50 index was flat at. 12,753.74.

(source: Reuters)