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Tech stocks close at lowest since late June

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Gold stocks drop 2%

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Fortescue drops on energy capex rise plans

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Macquarie results disappoint investors

(Updates to close)

By Archishma Iyer and Sneha Kumar

July 25 (Reuters) - A rout in local technology stocks,

in line with a global sell-off, pressured Australian shares

which ended at their lowest in two weeks, with sharp declines in

heavyweight mining and banking indexes further weighing on the

benchmark.

The S&P/ASX 200 index finished 1.3% lower to

7,861.20 points, with all sectors ending in the red. The

benchmark is driving further away from its all-time high of

8,083.70 points scaled last week.

The sharp sell-off in tech giants in the United States after

lacklustre earnings trickled down to riskier local assets

especially with companies exposed to artificial intelligence and

business in United States.

"Profit taking in some of the expensive growth names is

having an influence on risk sentiment in Australia," Andrew

Tang, an investment strategist from Morgans Financial said.

Local technology firms bore the brunt of dull

investor confidence, losing 2.7% and marked its lowest close

since late June.

"Our market has been pumped up on the back of AI (artificial

intelligence) and the tech trade in the U.S. and it's inevitable

when that unwinds, we will unwind as well," Henry Jennings, a

senior market analyst from Marcustoday said.

Top constituents WiseTech Global ( WTCHF ) and accounting

service provider Xero ( XROLF ) slipped 3.2% and 3.5%.

The resources sector also suffered, with a slump in bullion

prices dragging the gold subindex about 2% lower, while

miners and energy stocks tanked about 1.6%

and 1.8% due to weaker commodity prices.

Both Rio Tinto and BHP Group ( BHP ) lost 1.4% and

0.9%.

Fortescue, the world's fourth largest iron ore

producer, slumped 5.5% after flagging a rise in spending in its

energy division.

Banks lost 0.8%, with financial conglomerate

Macquarie Group ( MCQEF ) hitting its lowest since late June

after a flat operating performance in the first quarter which

disappointed investors.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index also

finished about 1% lower at 12,396.27 points, slipping off its

two-and-a-half year closing high level.

(Reporting by Archishma Iyer and Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru)