The Australian share market has dipped as US President Donald Trump once again returned to the global stage with a move critics say threatens the independence of America's central bank.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Tuesday finished down 36.8 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 8,935.6, while the broader All Ordinaries fell 37.7 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 9,207.3.
The losses came as Mr Trump became the first US president to attempt to oust a sitting Federal Reserve governor, saying he was firing Lisa Cook over unproven allegations of mortgage fraud.
IG markets analyst Tony Sycamore said Mr Trump's move heightened concerns over rising political interference, raising the risk traders view the Fed as politically compromised.
"This could trigger a re-run of the 'Sell US assets' theme seen earlier this year," Mr Sycamore said.
"In such a scenario, both the US dollar and US equities could experience sharp declines."
Eight of the ASX's 11 sectors finished lower, with energy, consumer discretionary and consumer staples higher.
Coles helped power the consumer staples sector with its biggest gains since the COVID-19-related volatility of March 2020.
Coles shares rose 8.5 per cent to an all-time high of $22.50 after the supermarket giant beat earnings expectations nearly across the board.
Woolworths was up 2.5 per cent to $33.42 before its earnings report on Wednesday.
In the mining sector, Fortescue dropped 3.9 per cent to $19.22 after the iron ore giant reported its lowest annual profit in six years despite record shipments because of falling iron ore prices.
Elsewhere in the sector, BHP fell 1.1 per cent to $42.65 and Rio Tinto was flat at $115.42 while goldminer Northern Star added 0.2 per cent to $18.60.
In the real estate sector, Scentre Group climbed 1.5 per cent to $4.06 after the Westfield owner upgraded its full-year distribution guidance as its funds from operations grew 3.2 per cent to $587 million in the first half.
Chief executive Elliott Rusanow said the shopping mall had seen customer visits rise 3.0 per cent to 340 million in the six months and its tenants had achieved record sales of $29.3 billion over the past year.
Kelsian Group rocketed 18.1 per cent to a near one-year high of $4.76 after the transport company grew underlying net profit by two per cent to $95 million and declared a bigger-than-expected final dividend.
Other gainers on the backs of earnings results included lottery enabler Jumbo Interactive (up 10.3 per cent) and a trio of health care companies: Nanosonics (15.1 per cent), Integral Diagnostics (12.1 per cent) and Polynovo (5.4 per cent).
On the flip side, Abacus Storage King sunk 6.2 per cent after announcing its results.
In the heavyweight financial sector, NAB rose 0.4 per cent to $41.86 while CBA dropped 0.7 per cent to $169.08 and ANZ fell 0.8 per cent to $33.15. Westpac was flat at $38.30.
The Australian dollar was buying 64.80 US cents, from 65.01 US cents at 5pm on Monday.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 dropped 36.8 points on Tuesday, or 0.41 per cent, to 8,935.6
* The broader All Ordinaries lost 38.7 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 9,207.3
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 64.80 US cents, from 65.01US cents on Friday
* 95.74 Japanese yen, from 95.68 Japanese yen
* 55.76 euro cents, from 55.49 euro cents
* 48.16 British pence, from 48.08 British pence
* 110.91 NZ cents, from 110.65 NZ cents
