** Shares of Coles Group COL.AX fall as much as 7.9% to A$20.44, hitting their lowest level since January 29

** Stock set for weakest intraday trading session since March 31, 2020

** Stock top loser on benchmark ASX 200 index .AXJO

** Australia's second-largest grocer flags a soft start to H2 FY2026

** Co reports 11% decline in HY post-tax profit attributable to A$511 mln ($362.71 mln), missing Visible Alpha consensus of A$674.5 mln

** Announces interim dividend of 41 Australian cents a share

** Including session's moves, stock down 5% YTD

($1 = 1.4088 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru)

((shivangi.lahiri@thomsonreuters.com))