Corrects paragraph 14 to say New Zealand benchmark rose 0.8%, not fell 0.8%
By Shruti Agarwal
Feb 23 (Reuters) - Australian shares slipped on Monday as fresh uncertainty around U.S. tariff policy unsettled investors, dragging most sectors lower except miners, which gained on safe-haven flows.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO ended 0.6% lower at 9,026 points. The benchmark rose 1.8% last week.
Markets were left with a murky picture after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s emergency tariffs, prompting him to replace them with a 10% global levy before raising it to 15% without clarity on timing or scope.
"Trump headlines equal volatility. While the Supreme Court ruling was priced in by the market, it now opens up the door for Trump to start throwing on the fly numbers for tariff levels." Mark Gardener, CEO of MPC markets said.
Nevertheless, underlying support from earnings and still‑solid corporate fundamentals should limit the downside, he added.
"We view this pullback as an opportunity to buy as we should head back to record highs once the dust settles."
Strong corporate earnings had driven the index to a record high last week, with the benchmark climbing 2.4% since February 11, when the reporting season began.
Back on the benchmark, financial stocks .AXFJ fell 1.2%, with the “big four” banks falling between 0.6% and 2.3%.
CSL CSL.AX, which derives most of its revenue from the United States, fell 3.8%, dragging the health index .AXHJ down 2.4%.
Technology stocks .AXIJ dropped 4.6%, while consumer discretionary .AXDJ and real estate stocks .AXRE clocked 1.8% and 2.3% in losses, respectively.
Bucking the somber trend, miners .AXMM rose 1.7%, hitting a one-week high with sector giant BHP Group BHP.AX adding 1.3%.
Gold stocks .AXGD gained 4.1% as heightened volatility boosted safe‑haven interest in bullion.
Miners and gold stocks rose on safe‑haven demand, extending a months‑long rotation out of costly tech and health names and into commodities, Mark added.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.8% to 13,420.43 points.
(Reporting by Shruti Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar)
((Shruti.Agarwal@thomsonreuters.com))