Thanks afternoon crew. End-of-day summary: Australian shares...

Thanks afternoon crew.

End-of-day summary:

Australian shares logged their weakest close in a year amid escalating conflict in the Middle East and after a surge in retail spending kept the pressure on the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates.

The ASX 200 declined 54 points or 0.79% to 6773.Energy producers, banks and supermarkets were amongst the biggest weights. Modest gains in tech stocks and gold miners helped cushion the fall.

Weak leads from Wall Street were compounded by news that retail sales increased by 0.9% last month, the biggest expansion since January. CommSec chief economist Craig James said the report strengthened the case for a rate hike next Tuesday after a five-month pause.

"While slowing consumption and the lagged effect of previous rate hikes have been key factors in the Reserve Bank's five rate pauses this year, the unexpected strengthening in spending adds to the case for a potential resumption of the rate hiking cycle on November 7," James said.