Australian shares experienced a downturn today, mirroring a late Wall Street sell-off, driven by profit-taking among traders. The S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.4%, or 27.1 points, to 7510.4, retreating from the previous session’s 10-month peak. Most sectors, especially technology and real estate, registered declines. Gold and lithium explorers, such as Newmont (-1.6%) and Allkem (-5%), weighed down the materials sector, though Rio Tinto reached an intraday high of $135.4 due to robust iron prices anticipating winter restocking demand in Asia.

The seasonal stockpiling trend in Asia preceding the Chinese New Year, supporting iron ore prices, which rose 24% this year. On Wall Street, a pre-Christmas nervousness led to a late-session downturn, with the Dow Jones (-1.3%), S&P 500, and Nasdaq (-1.5%) closing lower.

Stocks in focus included Pacific Smiles, up 1.4% after rejecting Genesis Capital’s undervalued takeover bid. Conversely, Liontown plummeted 8% amid a legal dispute over a WA mine royalty. Pilbara Minerals (-2.7%) announced cost-cutting plans, while Bubs Australia, at 13.5¢, secured $17 million for US expansion. Transurban rose 0.4% after securing $800 million in 10-year debt for debt repayment and capital return. ANZ Group remained unchanged as its CEO expressed optimism at the AGM about expanding mortgage market share.