Australian shares retreat as Rio Tinto leads miners lower

Australian shares slipped on Tuesday from a record closing high in the previous session, as Rio Tinto led mining stocks lower after reporting second-quarter iron ore shipments below analyst estimates, while caution also set in ahead of June jobs data.

The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.2 per cent lower at 7,999.30, snapping a three-session winning streak.

Mining stocks fell 1.5 per cent in their worst session in more than a week. Rio Tinto closed 2.5 per cent lower after hitting its weakest level since March 18 during the session.

The world's largest producer of iron ore shipped 80.3 million tons of the steel-making commodity from its Pilbara operations in the June quarter, missing the Visible Alpha consensus estimate of 82.1 Mt due to production impacts from a train derailment in mid-May.

"Despite Rio's mild production drop and the reasons behind it aren't too new to investors, the accumulated frustration that Australian miners have yet to see light at the end of the tunnel presses the pause button on the market rally," said Hebe Chen, a market analyst at IG.

Market participants are now awaiting the June unemployment report due on Thursday, which could provide cues on the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy plans.

Anticipations suggest much softer job data will arrive, Chen said.

Banking stocks rose 0.1 per cent in their sixth consecutive session of gains. National Australia Bank and Westpac Banking climbed 0.3 per cent each.

Gold stocks closed up 0.2 per cent after hitting their highest level since Nov. 17, 2020. Northern Star Resources rose 0.6 per cent.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index gained 0.5 per cent to 12,184.49, its highest close since Feb. 8, 2023.

The country is scheduled to release its second-quarter inflation data on Wednesday, with a Reuters poll showing annual inflation likely eased to 3.4 per cent from 4 per cent in the previous quarter.