End-of-day summary:
A losing week for Australian investors continued with a third straight decline ahead of tonight's US interest rate decision.
The ASX 200 slid 33 points or 0.46% to 7163. The energy sector spearheaded the retreat, falling 1.8% after Brent crude backed off a 10-month high. The tech and mining sectors shed more than 1.1%.
The fragile mood on the ASX this week was underlined by a 1.25% drop in the Emerging Companies index to a 15-month low. The Small Ords - another risk barometer - touched its weakest level since late June before paring its fall to 0.46%.
This week's jitters came ahead of the Federal Reserve's quarterly economic forecast, which will lay out the bank's expectations for interest rates through next year. Investors fear current market expectations for rate cuts next year may be over-optimistic in the light of recent signs that inflation is not falling fast enough.
