Australian shares retreated for a second session running, underperforming markets across the Asia Pacific. In the red through the day, the S&P/ASX 200 finished 0.7% lower at 6653.0.
The materials subindex managed to buck the trend and notch a modest gain, but all other sectors weakened led by drops of more than 2% in the information technology and telecom services.
A 16% slump by AMP also weighed heavily after it warned that it didn’t expect to pay an interim dividend, while heavily-weighted Big Four banks were down between 0.5% and 1%.

U.S. stocks drifted around the flatline intraday, pressured by losses among shares of energy and industrial companies.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 13 points, or 0.1%, to 27318. The S&P 500 lost less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.1%.
Major indexes are sitting near records, thanks to bets that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates and in turn buoy the economy as the pace of growth slows.
Over the next few weeks, investors will parse through hundreds of second-quarter earnings reports-getting a look at how U.S. corporations coped with issues like trade uncertainty and a weakening global economy.
Citigroup shares edged up 0.3% after the bank exceeded analysts’ estimates for both profits and revenue, but delivered mixed results for its trading unit. Analysts will get a look at earnings results from JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo on Tuesday and other big banks later this week.
Meanwhile, Boeing ‘s stock fell 1.2%, shaving roughly 30 points off the Dow industrials, after some Federal Aviation Administration officials and pilot-union leaders suggested the company’s 737 MAX planes are unlikely to be ready to carry passengers again until 2020.
Energy shares followed crude oil prices lower, with Cimarex Energy and Noble Energy losing more than 4% apiece.

Gold futures edged higher, settling at their highest in almost two weeks as prices extended recent gains scored on the back of expectations for a U.S. Federal Reserve interest-rate cut at the end of the month.
Gold for August delivery on Comex added $1.30, or about 0.1%, to settle at $1,413.50 an ounce. That’s the highest most-active contract settlement since July 3, which saw a finish at $1,420.90–the highest since May 2013, FactSet data show. September silver also rose 12.9 cents, or 0.9% to $15.365 an ounce.

Oil futures settled lower, giving back a portion of last week’s sizable gains, as production in the Gulf of Mexico began a post-storm recovery.
August West Texas Intermediate crude fell by 63 cents, or 1.1%, to settle $59.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, pulling back after finishing last week with a 4.7% gain.
WTI’s recent trade above $60 had been seen by technical commodity analysts as a bullish sign for the asset, which has recently been in an upward trend, on the back of a pause in tensions between the U.S. and China on tariffs and an agreement to keep production capped until March of 2020 by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major producers, including Russia.

The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of 16 others, rose slightly to 89.94 from 89.92 Friday amid reports of further slowing in the Chinese economy.

European stocks traded higher as an upbeat start to the U.S. earnings season deflects attention from slower economic growth in China. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2% while the FTSE 100 gained 0.3%. The DAX climbed 0.5% and the CAC-40 advanced 0.1%.
Shares in Galapagos, the Belgian biotech group, rallied following the announcement of a large infusion of cash. Gilead Sciences has said it would pay $5.1 billion to boost its stake in the company and gain rights outside Europe to its treatments in development.

Chinese stocks inched higher Monday after new data showed economic growth slowed to its weakest pace since 1992, raising expectations that Beijing would introduce stimulus measures to support the economy.
Data showed growth in the world’s second-largest economy decelerated to 6.2% in the second quarter. The Shanghai Composite Index closed 0.4% higher after falling by as much as 1.5% in the morning session.
India’s benchmark share index closes higher, helped by gains in some blue-chip technology and auto stocks. The BSE Sensex closes 0.4% higher at 38896.71, with Infosys leading the gains.
The FTSE Straits Times Index closed 0.3% lower at 3347.95 Monday, weighed by heavyweights such as Singapore Telecommunications and Singapore Airlines.