ASX down before RBA rate call; Bapcor sinks 18pc as soft sales bite

The Australian sharemarket slipped on Tuesday ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's last meeting of the year, with rates widely expected to remain on hold.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index was down by 23.10 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 8601.30 at 10.12am AEDT , with eight of the 11 sectors lower.
The market's focus will be on RBA governor Michele Bullock's accompanying press conference, where she is expected to take a hard line on inflation. Bond markets are pricing in at least one rate increase next year.
"With no move expected and no statement on monetary policy released, the issue at the RBA meeting may be whether the central bank aligns with the view being expressed in rates markets, and under what conditions that it may see a rate hike as being necessary," Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said.
Interest rate-sensitive tech stocks paced the index lower as Life360 fell 3.8 per cent, NextDC 1.1 per cent and TechnologyOne lost 1.8 per cent. It came after Nasdaq retreated slightly in overnight trade.
Woodside Energy fell 0.8 per cent, underpinning losses in the energy sector as oil prices fell 2 per cent to $US62.46 per barrel as Iraqi oilfield production was restored. Santos fell 1.2 per cent and Beach Energy 1.3 per cent.
Stocks in focus
In company news, Bapcor dived 15.6 per cent as it cut its first-half earnings guidance and warned of softer trading in October and November, as price cuts in its trade division hit margins, sparking a narrowing in its full-year outlook for 2026.
Liontown fell 1 per cent as it executed a binding offtake agreement with Canmax Technologies for the supply of 150,000 wet metric tonnes of spodumene concentrate per year over 2027 and 2028.
TPG Telecom fell 2 per cent as it fronts a Senate committee on Tuesday as scrutiny intensifies over two incidents where customers using Samsung devices running outdated software were unable to contact Triple Zero.
West African Resources rose 0.9 per cent as it said new drilling at its Sanbrado mine in Burkina Faso points to a potential open-pit mine-life extension after intercepting gold more than 300 metres below current reserves.
Lifestyle Communities slid 1 per cent as it will give all existing home owners the option to switch to its revised Deferred Management Fee model once the VCAT appeal is resolved, regardless of the outcome.
Copper has climbed to a fresh all-time high on expectations of stronger Chinese demand, ANZ says, after Beijing signalled it would maintain a proactive fiscal stance and "moderately loose" monetary policy.

Sumber : AFR