Australian shares snap three-day rally as miners drag on Trump's China tariff plans

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Australian shares halted a three-day rally on Thursday, as uncertainties surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans weighed on commodity prices and mining stocks, while investors awaited crucial inflation data next week.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO declined 0.4% to 8,399.3, as of 2335 GMT. The benchmark rose 0.3% on Wednesday.

Domestic miners .AXMM, which occupy nearly a quarter of the Australian index, shed 1%, as iron ore prices declined on concerns that Trump could impose higher tariffs on imports from top consumer China. IRONORE/

Sector giants BHP BHP.AX and Rio Tinto RIO.AX tumbled 1.1% and 0.8%, respectively. Fortescue FMG.AX slipped 1.7% after the miner reported lower realized prices in the second quarter.

Real estate stocks .AXRE dipped 1.2%, with the country's largest-listed property developer Goodman Group GMG.AX slumping 2.3%.

Locally, investors are on the lookout for key inflation data due on Jan. 29 that would provide cues on the Reserve Bank of Australia's stance on interest rate cuts.

Heavyweight banking stocks .AXFJ fell 0.3%, with all "big four" banks losing between 0.1% and 0.5%.

Energy stocks .AXEJ were largely flat after dipping as much as 1% in early trade, as oil prices fell for a fifth consecutive day. O/R

Sector major Woodside Energy WDS.AX declined 0.8%. Ampol ALD.AX shed 3%, after reporting a 56% drop in its refinery margin. Santos STO.AX, however, rose 0.6% after forecasting higher production for 2025.

Technology stocks .AXIJ gained in tandem with their Wall Street peers, up 0.8%, with accounting software maker Xero XRO.AX advancing 1.3%.

Among individual stocks, Insignia Financial IFL.AX rose as much as 2.7% to hit a three-year high after Bain Capital matched CC Capital's bid for the money manager, valuing it at $1.92 billion.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.2% to 13,060.11.

(Reporting by Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

((Nikita.Jino@thomsonreuters.com;))

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