AU Evening Wrap: Australia Shares Fall 0.3% Ahead of Budget Announcement; Critical Minerals Miners Rise

Australia's $S&P/ASX 200 (.XJO.AU)$ closed 0.3% lower at 7726.8, hours before the country's government was due to announce its annual budget. The benchmark index opened slightly lower after the DJIA snapped its eight-day winning streak, and kept falling until it pared losses in the final hour.

Critical mineral miners were among the best performers on the ASX, as they were expected to be among the big winners after the budget announcement. The industry had lobbied strongly for government assistance due to the sustained decline in lithium and nickel prices over the past year. $Chalice Mining Ltd (CHN.AU)$ rose by 6.6% to $1.45, $Arcadium Lithium PLC (LTM.AU)$ added 1.7% to $7.07, and $Piedmont Lithium Inc (PLL.AU)$ jumped by 12.8% to 22¢.

Large iron-ore miners and most banks finished lower, as 12 of the 14 largest companies by market capitalization closed in the red. $BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AU)$, $Rio Tinto (RIO.US)$ and $Fortescue Ltd (FMG.AU)$ lost between 0.2% and 0.9%.

$Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG.AU)$, $National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB.AU)$, $Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AU)$ and $ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ANZ.AU)$ gave up between 0.1% and 0.7%. The nation's largest lender, $CommBank (CBA.AU)$, rose 0.2%.

Anglo American has rejected an improved acquisition offer from $BHP Group Ltd (BHP.AU)$. The revised proposal offered 0.8132 BHP shares for each Anglo American share, which was a 14.6% increase from the original offer. However, according to a filing on the Australian bourse, Anglo American rejected the improved proposal.