Australian Shares Experience Broad-Based Decline, NAB Slumps Following Missed Earnings Projections

Australian Shares Fall as NAB Hits 9-Month Low

May 4 (Reuters) - Australian shares declined on Monday, with most sectors trading in negative territory. The country's top business lender, National Australia Bank (NAB), slipped to its lowest level in nearly 9 months after its half-year cash estimates missed market expectations.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.4% to reach 8,696 by 0023 GMT. This comes after the benchmark finished up 0.7% on Friday, snapping eight consecutive sessions of losses that saw a decline of around 3%.

Banking stocks declined 0.6%, largely driven by a 4% loss in NAB. The lender reported half-year cash earnings of A$2.64 billion ($1.90 billion), missing the Visible Alpha estimate and last year's figure. NAB also warned that the Iran war posed risks to its underlying asset quality.

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NAB's stock hit its lowest level since August 13, 2025, and logged its steepest one-day decline in nearly two weeks.

Consumer staple stocks edged 1.8% lower, dragged by a 2% loss in A2 Milk's Australia-listed shares and Endeavour Group. Both stocks were among the top losers on the broader benchmark.

A2 shares tanked as much as 19%, falling the most since August 2024, after the dairy producer said it has commenced a recall of three batches of its a2 Platinum infant milk formula sold in the United States after testing detected cereulide, a toxin that can cause vomiting.

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Pub operator Endeavour declined as much as 6.7% after flagging elevated fuel and freight costs due to the Middle East conflict in its quarterly update.

Tech stocks and the industrials sub-index bucked the trend to gain 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively.

Investor attention will be on the Reserve Bank of Australia's monetary policy meeting on Tuesday, with the central bank widely expected to raise its key cash rate by 25 basis points for the third consecutive session, per a Reuters poll.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.4% to 12,986.53, largely on the back of a near 19% drop in A2 Milk stock.

($1 = 1.3885 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)