Nov 16 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell for a third straight session on Wednesday, dragged by declines in financials, amid weakness in global equities as news of a Russian-made missile strike in Poland sparked fears of heightened geopolitical tensions.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.3% lower at 7,122.20. The benchmark has lost 0.5% so far this week.
NATO member Poland said a Russian-made rocket killed two people in eastern Poland near Ukraine. Moscow denied it was responsible and U.S. President Joe Biden said early information suggested the missile may not have come from Russia.
"Market participants are exercising caution towards equities because of a persistent feeling of an approaching severe economic downturn, coupled with this new geopolitical anxiety," said Kunal Sawhney, chief executive officer of Kalkine Group, referring to the blast in Poland.
Friday closed at "great highs" for almost all indices worldwide as the cooling U.S. inflation data sparked hopes of a less aggressive Federal Reserve rate stance in the coming months, Sawhney said.
"But the way things have changed this week is an unmistakable reflection of the indecisiveness that has gripped traders."
Financial stocks fell 1% to lead declines on the benchmark. The so-called "big four" banks fell between 0.3% and 1.8%.
Healthcare stocks and tech stocks lost 0.8% and 0.2%, respectively.
Mining stocks climbed 0.8% after iron ore extended its rally to a fourth straight session.
Energy stocks rose 1.2% even as oil prices slipped sparked by worries of lower fuel demand in the world's top crude importer China that outweighed concerns of tighter oil supply.
Meanwhile, Australian wages boasted the largest rise in a decade last quarter as a super-tight labour market finally made itself felt, raising the risk of further rate hikes.
Data showed that annual pay picked up to 3.1% in the September quarter, from 2.6%, the fastest pace since 2013 but still lagging far behind consumer price growth of 7.3%.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index closed 0.1% lower at 11,230.55. (Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
