The Australian sharemarket fell as investors took profits from tech stocks and dumped miners amid jitters that the China-backed Simandou iron ore project in Guinea could disrupt global commodity markets.

Investors were mulling the path forward for interest rates after Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock warned on Tuesday that there could be more inflationary pressure in the economy than previously expected.

The S&P/ASX 200 index dipped 0.1 per cent, or by 11.70 points, to 8802 on Wednesday, as further interest rate cuts this cycle are now no longer fully priced in. This marked six losses in the past seven sessions.

“The market behaved in a very defensive manner – tech, resources and cyclicals were down, with the areas of strength being healthcare, staples, infrastructure, insurers, and the banks,” said UBS equities executive director Rob Taubman. “This is being driven by a weaker backdrop in the US.”

Technology stocks led the bourse lower, tracking a mega-caps-led Wall Street sell-off amid renewed concerns that valuations have leapt ahead of fundamentals. NextDC plunged 4.9 per cent to $15.69, while Life360 dropped 4.4 per cent to $48.53, Codan 4.1 per cent to $34.90, and TechnologyOne 2.1 per cent to $36.06.

Materials weighed as Fortescue Metals eased 2.5 per cent to $19.97 and Rio Tinto 1.2 per cent to $127.84, while BHP also edged lower. That followed iron ore losses as investors worried that China’s plan to develop the Simandou mine at the world’s largest untapped iron ore reserve could disrupt the market.

Copper miners weighed as the industrial metal dropped for a fifth day in a row after reaching a record late last month. Capstone Copper fell 4.9 per cent to $12.61 and Firefly 5.6 per cent to $1.77, while Aeris Resources plunged 17.2 per cent to 39¢.

Gold miners also dragged the bourse as the price of bullion fell below $US4000 overnight. Ramelius fell 1.5 per cent to $3.20, Capricorn Metals 1.4 per cent to $12.82, and Genesis Minerals 1.2 per cent to $5.67.

Index heavyweight Commonwealth Bank stemmed further losses, rising 1.3 per cent to $176.35, while National Australia Bank climbed 1.7 per cent to $44.53. Westpac edged lower, but ANZ was flat.

Stocks in focus

In corporate news, DroneShield dropped 7.5 per cent to $3.85 on news it had vested nearly 45 million performance options to employees.

Medibank Private rose 1.2 per cent to $4.90 as it agreed to acquire Better Medical, a network of 61 general practice and medical clinics across Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania, for around $159 million.

Woodside gained nearly 1 per cent as it used its 2025 capital markets day to outline plans to boost annual net operating cash flow to around $US9 billion by the early 2030s.

Goodman Group was down 3.4 per cent to $31.23 as it reaffirmed its FY26 operating earnings per share growth target of 9 per cent after a solid September quarter, saying development activity is set to accelerate into the second half as demand for data centres and logistics facilities grows.

And Nanosonics fell 2.9 per cent to $4.30 after it announced an on-market share buyback of up to $20 million this fiscal year.

That’s a wrap on today’s news. Join us again soon for more live markets news.