The Australian share market has finished lower despite a minor bounce following the Reserve Bank's decision to keep interest rates on hold.
The S&P/ASX200 had fallen by as much as 84 points on Tuesday but recovered slightly to close down 63.1 points, or 0.89 per cent, at 7,061.1 after the RBA announcement.
The broader All Ordinaries fell 66.3 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 7,269.8.
The central bank's decision to leave rates on hold for December came as no surprise to investors after a month of softer economic data.
But traders grew increasingly bullish about the prospect of another pause in February following RBA governor Michele Bullock's commentary citing signs inflation is slowing.
The rates market is pricing in a 10 per cent chance of a hike at 2024's first board meeting, down from 35 per cent before the RBA's "dovish hold", IG markets analyst Tony Sycamore said.
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver still thinks there is a 40 per cent chance of another hike before the end of the tightening cycle, arguing the RBA board "retains a bias to raise rates again".
The local bourse followed a negative lead from Wall Street overnight as investors sold off overheated tech stocks after five straight weeks of gains.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.8 per cent, the S&P 500 slipped 0.5 per cent and the Dow Jones edged 0.1 per cent lower as bond yields bounced back from their sharpest monthly drop since 2008.
Nine of the 11 official ASX sectors finished lower, with only health care and utilities making gains.
Mining stocks weighed down the index with BHP falling 1.3 per cent, Rio Tinto sliding 1.0 per cent and Fortescue 0.9 per cent lower.
Goldminer Northern Star plunged 4.0 per cent as the gold spot price came off a record high, while Evolution entered a trading halt after announcing a $525 million capital placement to acquire an 80 per cent stake in NSW gold and copper mine Northparkes.
Australia's largest oil and gas producer Woodside Energy sank 2.7 per cent to $29.58 - its lowest level since May 2022 - as crude oil prices continue to languish.
The big banks were mixed, with CBA and ANZ down 0.4 and 0.3 per cent respectively while NAB climbed 0.4 per cent and Westpac edged 0.1 per cent higher.
Regional lender Bank of Queensland suffered a first strike to its remuneration report as shareholders revolted against a year of leadership changes, disappointing earnings and regulatory sanctions.
Shares in the company dropped 3.2 per cent to $5.46.
Australia's largest electricity retailer Origin Energy bounced back from the previous day's losses after shareholders rejected a $20 billion takeover bid from a Brookfield-led consortium to finish 2.2 per cent higher.
Investors have oversold the stock relative to its historical valuation and a solid medium-term outlook, RBC Capital Markets analyst Gordon Ramsay said.
Origin shares have fallen 15 per cent since October, when it became clear the deal was doomed to fail given the opposition of its largest shareholder AustralianSuper.
Health care start-up Mesoblast slumped 18 per cent to 31.5c after announcing it will undertake a $55 million capital raise at 30c per share.
Software company Whispir soared 11.2 per cent to 54.5c after start-up Pendula indicated it would launch an unsolicited takeover bid by the end of Friday.
Whispir's board is still considering the terms of Pendula's offer but recommended shareholders reject an earlier 48c per share bid from Sydney-based Soprano Design, which an independent expert assessed as being below fair market value but reasonable in the absence of a superior proposal.
The Australian dollar tumbled after the RBA board meeting to buy 65.82 US cents, from 66.56 US cents at Monday's ASX close.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Tuesday down 63.1 points, or 0.89 per cent, at 7,061.1.
* The broader All Ordinaries fell 66.3 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 7,269.8.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 65.82 US cents, from 66.56 US cents at Monday's ASX close
* 96.85 Japanese yen, from 97.72 Japanese yen
* 60.70 Euro cents, from 61.22 Euro cents
* 52.09 British pence, from 52.52 pence
* 107.00 NZ cents, from 107.44 NZ cents.
