Australian shares pull back as mining and gold stocks drag; Woodside up

Oct 22 (Reuters) – Australian shares retreated on Wednesday from a record closing high notched the day before, as index heavyweight miners and gold stocks pulled back, while Woodside Energy jumped after raising its full-year production forecast. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.9% to 9,015 by 2356 GMT. The benchmark closed 0.7% higher on Tuesday. Miners plunged 3.6%, erasing the previous session's gains to hit a more than one-week low despite steady iron ore prices. The sub-index had touched a record high on Tuesday after BHP voiced confidence in global iron ore demand. BHP and Rio Tinto slipped about 1.5% each, while Fortescue, which is scheduled to release its first-quarter production results on Thursday, declined 0.4%. Gold stocks tumbled nearly 10% to their lowest level in more than three weeks and were on track for their weakest trading session since April 23. Gold prices fell the most since August 2020 on Tuesday, as investors booked profits after bullion prices hit a record high in the previous session. Northern Star Resources dropped 9.5% on Wednesday, while Evolution Mining fell 10%. Technology stocks followed the Nasdaq lower and were last down 0.4%. Energy stocks rose 0.5%, boosted by a 2.8% gain in sector giant Woodside Energy. The country's biggest independent energy firm raised its production forecast for fiscal 2025, citing continued strong performance across its assets. Smaller rival Santos retreated 0.7%. Financials inched 0.1% higher, with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia rising 0.4% and ANZ Group up 0.2%. In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.6% to 13,300.35. (Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

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