Australia shares fall 1% on commodity declines, CBA posts slightly better profit

Nov 13 (Reuters) – Australian shares fell on Wednesday for the third consecutive session, with the mining and financial sectors declining the most, and the country’s number one bank fell after it reported earnings.
The S&P/ASX 200 index fell as much as 1.2% to 8,157.30 points by 2345 GMT, with most sectors trading in the red. The benchmark fell 0.1% on Tuesday.
The mining index bore the brunt of weaker iron ore prices in top steel producer China as investors remained unconvinced of the stimulus measures to prop up its beleaguered economy. It fell nearly 2%, down for a third straight day.
Top mining giants BHP Group and Rio Tinto traded 1.8% and 3.1% lower respectively.
The financial sector — which occupies one-third of the benchmark — followed suit, falling 1.4%, with ANZ Group losing the most, about 3.9%. The lender traded ex-dividend and was among the top losers in the benchmark.
Others such as Westpac and National Australia Bank lost 1.3% and 1.6% each.
Meanwhile, the energy and gold indexes fell 0.8% each.
Under corporate news, Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell 1.3%, even as it reported first-quarter cash earnings slightly better than market expectations.
Additionally, Mineral Resources flagged a closure of its Bald Hill mine due to a prolonged downturn of lithium prices. Shares fell more than 7% to their lowest level since late October.
Overnight, the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 382.15 points, or 0.86%, at 43,910.98 points on Tuesday. The S&P 500 lost 17.36 points, or 0.29%, while Nasdaq lost 17.36 points, or 0.09%.
New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.7% to 12,664.11 points.
(Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; editing by Alan Barona)