With the Fed widely expected to raise interest rates by 25 basis points, market participants awaiting for the accompanying statement for clues about further policy tightening for the rest of the year.
Investors were additionally wary of rising tensions between the United States and China after U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Monday raised concerns with Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi about Beijing's support for Moscow in the wake of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine.
At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 fell 51.96 points, or 0.73%, to 7,097.45. The broader All Ordinaries index sank 66.12 points, or 0.89%, to 7,356.08.
The top performing stocks in this index were UNITI GROUP and CLINUVEL PHARMACEUTICAL, up 11.00% and 6.56% respectively. The bottom performing stocks in this index were CHALICE MINING and CHAMPION IRON, down 10.29% and 9.36% respectively.
Tech stocks suffered heavy losses, with Block Inc. falling 5.2%. Mining heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto lost around 4% each as iron ore prices fell after a surge in Covid-19 cases in China. Energy and gold stocks also declined, tracking weak commodity prices after diplomatic efforts to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict calmed supply-disruption fears.
ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia House Prices Up 4.7% On Quarter In Q4- Australia house prices were up 4.7% on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2021, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday, down from the 5% increase in the third quarter. On a yearly basis, house prices jumped 23.7%, up from 21.7%. The total value of residential dwellings in Australia rose A$512.6 billion to A$9,901.6 billion in Q4, and the mean price of residential dwellings rose A$44,000 to A$920,100.
CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar was at $0.7182 following yesterday's decline from above $0.728.
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