July 12 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Wednesday weighed by financial stocks, which tracked their U.S. counterparts lower and amid widespread caution ahead of Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen's semi-annual congressional testimony later in the day.
Markets will closely watch Yellen's comments before the House Financial Services Committee for clues on the pace of U.S. monetary policy tightening, though no major changes to the policy outlook are expected.
Investors are also lying low ahead of major U.S. second quarter earnings reports later this week with big banks, including JP Morgan Chase
, Wells Fargo , and Citigroup , due to report on Friday. "There is just a lack of clean drivers, lack of fresh catalysts for the buyers to step up and buy in the markets," said Ben Le Brun, a market analyst at OptionsXpress.
"We are looking at the U.S. earnings season and at our own quarterly production reports season."
Mining giant Rio Tinto (RIO) will report its second quarter production numbers on July 18.
The Aussie benchmark index (xjo), which finished flat on Tuesday, lost 0.7 percent, or 37.93 points, to 5,691 by 0250 GMT.
Financial stocks were the biggest drag on the benchmark with the losses concentrated in the big banks, which lost in a range of 1 percent to 1.3 percent.
Healthcare stocks too were among the top decliners with CSL Ltd (CSL), the biggest stock in the sector by market value with substantial exposure to U.S. markets, losing 1.4 percent to its lowest position in over a month.
The industrials sector was pulled down by a 1.5 percent fall in Sydney Airport Holdings (SYD) shares, while consumer shares were weighed down by a 0.7 percent decline in Wesfarmers stocks (WES).
The basic materials sector was the only one to gain with its miners supported by an uptick in commodity prices.
Big miners BHP (BHP), Rio Tinto (RIO), and Fortescue (FMG) added in a range of 0.3 percent to 0.6 percent, helped by a surge in iron ore and base metals prices. [IRONORE/] [MET/L]
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) fell 0.4 percent or 27.64 points to 7,599.83, dragged down telecom and industrial stocks.
Building materials maker Fletcher Building Ltd (FBU) and telecom infrastructure business Chorus Ltd (CNU) were the biggest decliners on the benchmark, down 1.9 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.
