Australian shares edged lower as the world counted down to the start of in-person voting in the US presidential election – considered the most anticipated market event of the year.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed 32.8 points, or 0.4 per cent, lower to 8131.8 points. That’s after US stocks slipped, Treasuries rose, and the greenback fell on Tuesday morning as traders pared back bets of a Donald Trump win due to a new poll suggesting Kamala Harris was leading in the traditionally Republican state of Iowa.

“The so-called ‘Trump trade’ unwound ahead of what’s looking like a very close presidential race,” said ANZ Research economist Brian Martin. “Polls, surveys and betting markets show both candidates neck and neck, with results within the margin of error. That’s adding to concerns that a contested result might drag out the uncertainty, adding to market volatility.”

Banks, energy lose

On the ASX, all 11 sectors ended the session lower. Banking stocks were among the worst hit, down 0.6 per cent, as the Reserve Bank of Australia once again left the cash rate unchanged at 4.35 per cent, saying underlying inflation “remained too high”. Westpac was the worst hit of the majors, falling 1.5 per cent to $31.92. A day earlier, the bank had edged up 0.9 per cent after posting a net profit of $7 billion for FY2024.

Energy stocks also fell after oil prices steadied from their rally on Monday. Brent crude ended trading in Asia largely unchanged. Brent had risen as much as 3 per cent in the previous session, following heightened tensions in the Middle East and OPEC+’s move to extend supply curbs.

Stocks in focus

Domino’s Pizza fell 6.3 per cent to $31.60 as the company announced chief executive Don Meij would exit after 22 years leading the business. It also noted still-weak same-store sales in a trading update covering the first 17 weeks of the new financial year.

Shares in Mineral Resources bounced 4.1 per cent to $38.20. On Monday, the stock tumbled nearly 10 per cent to $36.70 on news that billionaire founder Chris Ellison would step down in the next 18 months after the board found he used the mining company’s resources for personal benefit.

Lifestyle Communities added 7.7 per cent to $9.10 as activist shareholder HMC Capital established a stake in the company, according to filings with the exchange.

Star Entertainment broke a five-session losing streak to rise 7.1 per cent 22.5¢. On Monday, wealth giant Perpetual offloaded a 129.7 million block of shares, valued at around $26 million and priced at 20¢ apiece.

Shares in Sigma Healthcare dropped 2.2 per cent to $1.97 as around 11 million shares shifted in a block trade. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is still assessing an $8.8 billion merger between it and Chemist Warehouse, which would result in a backdoor listing for the latter.

RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage on FireFly Metals with an “outperform” recommendation. Shares were 1.6 per cent higher at $1.29.