The Australian share market finished flat on Thursday, as weakness in major banks and profit-taking in retailers offset strong gains across the mining sector.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index finished just 1.90 points lower to close at 8,595.8, with seven of the 11 sectors ending lower.
Telecommunications stocks led sector declines. REA Group fell 3.4%, Seek lost 0.9%, Telstra dipped 1.2%, and TPG declined 1.5%.
Banking stocks weighed heavily on the index, as Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac retreated 2.2%, 1.1%, and 0.7%. respectively.
Retailers also reversed earlier gains, retreating after optimism around a possible interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia had lifted the sector earlier this week.
JB Hi-Fi slid 3%, Wesfarmers dropped 2%, and Harvey Norman lost 1.5%.
In contrast, the materials sector surged as iron ore prices rose on news earlier in the week that Beijing would take steps to eliminate disordered low-price competition and phase out some industrial capacity.
BHP popped 5.6%, Rio Tinto rose 1.8%, and Fortescue Metals added 1.8%.
Lithium stocks were also standout performers, with Pilbara Minerals up 11.3%, and Liontown Resources climbing 5%, and Mineral Resources surging 7.8%
Among individual names, retirement housing developer GemLife debuted strongly, finishing 4.8% higher at $4.33.
Pro Medicus 7.8% to a record closing high of $307.39 after announcing it had secured two new U.S. contracts valued at nearly $200 million, further cementing its expansion in the North American medical imaging market.
Domino’s Pizza gained 2.2% following a sharp selloff the previous day, after revealing that CEO Mark van Dyck will step down in December.
On the bond markets, yields were steady. The 10-year Australian government bond yield stood at 4.188%, while the 2-year yield was 3.242%, both rising 0.4%.
