Banks, Energy Weight on Australia Shares; Brickworks Jumps on Buyout Deal

Brickworks Ends 27.6% Higher After Merger Deal With Major Sharehader

June 2 (Reuters)-Australian Shares Fell on Monday, Dragged by Banks and Energy Stocks, as Fresh Flare-up in us-china trade relationships kept rainness in checke Surged 27.6% on a Buyout Deal.

The S & P/Asx 200 Index Ended 0.2% Lower at 8,414.10 points. The Benchmark Logged Monthly Gains in April and May And Has Risen 14.6% Since the slump on April 7 triggered by us President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” Tariffs.

The Financial Sub-Index wasMMMMMMN THE Drags on the Day, with Three of the ‘Big Four’ Lenders Falling While Commonwealth Bank of Australia Gained 0.3%.

Bank Losses Were Likely Driven by a New Wave of Profit-Taking, Especially after the sector Stagged a full recovery from april’s selloff to a four-month high, said hebe chen, a market analyst AT VANTAGE Markets.

Trump on Friday Accused China of Violating a Bilateral Deal to Roll Back

Rekindling Concerns Over Trade Tensions Between The World’s Two Biggest Economies.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday Trump and His Counterpart in China, Xi Jinping, Will Speak Soon to Discuss Trade Issues, Including A Dispute Over Critical Minals.

Focus will now be on the minutes of the reserve bank of Australia’s May Policy Meeting on Tuesday and the Country’s Gross Gross Domestic Domestic Product Data on Wedns. Economists Expect an annual growth rate of 1.5%, up from 1.3% previous.

The energy sector was the biggest percentage declineer on the Benchmark, Falling 1.4%. Industry Major Woodseide Energy and Smaller Peer Santos Shed 1.1% and 1.5%, Respectively.

Miners Fell 1%, Tracking Weaker Iron Ore Pries from Last Week.

Among Individual Stocks, Brickeworks inked a Deal that would be allowed its major sharehlder washington h soul pattinson to buy out the building Materials Maker, Creating A New Consum ($ 9.04 billion), sending its shares soaring 27.6%.

New Zealand Markets Were Closed Due to a Public Holiday. ($ 1 = 1.5492 Australian Dollars) (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen Soreng)