Foreign Markets

Australian markets fell notably as data showed wages rose at the slowest annual pace in more than two years in the fourth quarter.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.73 percent to 8,419.20 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 0.66 percent at 8,699.10.

National Australia Bank shares plunged 8.1 percent. The country's biggest business lender said that higher credit impairments against business loans contributed to a small fall in its unaudited December quarter cash earnings.

Australia's wage price index was up 0.7 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2024, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

On a yearly basis, wages climbed 3.2 percent - matching forecasts and slowing from the 3.5 percent in the three months prior.

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