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ASX 200 closes at lowest in more than a week

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South32 ( SHTLF ) plunges on viability of its alumina refinery

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Woodside Energy ( WDS ) down over 2%

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NZ50 slips, but hovers near a 2-1/2-year high

(Updates to close)

By Sameer Manekar and Sherin Sunny

July 22 (Reuters) - Australian shares started the week

on a dismal note as rate-hike worries and uncertainty

surrounding the U.S. elections kept investors away, with the

sell-off further compounded by miner South32's ( SHTLF ) 13% plunge on

doubts over its alumina refinery.

Investors remained on the sidelines for a third successive

day after mixed local jobs data last week and a still

above-target inflation cast doubt on the potency of the current

policy's restrictiveness, nudging up the chances of an August

rate hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia to 22%.

Traders also weighed U.S. President Joe Biden's decision to

withdraw his re-election campaign, and the consequences of a

potential Donald Trump presidency on markets.

The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.5% lower at 7,931.7

points on Monday. The index is now around 152 points below its

all-time high scaled last week.

"The market has had a rocky start to the week, with

political uncertainty in the United States and interest rate

concerns putting investors into a 'selling mood' today," Tim

Waterer, market analyst at KCM Trade, said.

"A potential rate hike (by RBA) is hanging like a cloud over

the Australian market with investors nervous about whether the

economy can weather even tighter monetary conditions than we

presently have."

South32 ( SHTLF ) was the top loser, plunging more than 12%

to mark its worst fall since March 2020, after a statutory body

recommended conditions to its Worsley Alumina refinery that the

miner says create "significant operating challenges" and impact

viability.

Shares of South32 ( SHTLF ) weighed in the mining index, which

lost about 1%, with BHP Group ( BHP ) and Fortescue

down about 0.4% each.

Banks shed 0.4% in their third successive session in

red. Three of the "Big Four" banks gave away between 0.5% and

1%.

Other sectors including healthcare, technology

, and energy were down between 0.3% and 1.7%,

with Woodside Energy ( WDS ) losing 2.3% after the refiner said

it would buy U.S. LNG developer Tellurian for $1.2

billion.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50

index edged lower to 12,309.91 points, but continued to

hover around its highest level since February 2022.