Financials pulled down Australian shares on Monday as a decision by Bendigo and Adelaide Bank to defer its final dividend brought the sector's payout woes to surface.
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> settled 0.8% lower at 6,076.4, with financials <.AXFJ> shedding 1.63% to hit their lowest level since Aug. 10.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd <BEN.AX> fell 6.6% as the mid-sized lender deferred its full-year dividend payment, citing economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and posted full-year profit that almost halved from a year earlier.
"At the moment, the financial space is where there's a bit of uncertainty about whether banks will be paying a dividend or not," said James Tao, a market analyst at CommSec.
"That's a big question mark moving forward for banks."
Though the financial regulator lifted a freeze on dividends, it has said the payout should be less than half of their profit this year.
Dividend payouts are closely watched in Australia, where around two million people, or 8% of the total population, manage their own retirement income.
Among other financial stocks, AMP Ltd <AMP.AX> lost 4.2%, while the "Big Four" banks finished in negative territory.
Adding to the gloom, Victoria, the country's second-most populous state, reported its biggest COVID-19 daily death toll with 25 fatalities and 282 new infections.
Technology stocks <.AXIJ> slipped 1.2%, led by a 2.4% drop in Computershare Ltd <CPU.AX>, while Afterpay Ltd <APT.AX> lost 2.7%.
Energy stocks <.AXEJ> declined 0.8%, with Ampol Ltd <ALD.AX> shedding 3.6%, while Cooper Energy Ltd <COE.AX> lost 1.3%.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> rose 1.93% to 11,672.95.
Among top gainers, Summerset Group Holdings Ltd <SUM.NZ> climbed 5.43%, while Ryman Healthcare Ltd <RYM.NZ> gained 5.33%.
($1 = 1.3931 Australian dollars)
(This story corrects to remove extraneous words in second paragraph)
(Reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
