Australian shares reversed early gains to close lower on Thursday, as weakness in banking and energy stocks outweighed strong performances in technology and real estate sectors.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 23.7 points or 0.3% to 8,955.0, despite six of the 11 sectors finishing higher.
The Financials sector led the decline, with Commonwealth Bank down 2.8%, National Australia Bank falling 2.5%, Westpac down 1.7%, and ANZ finishing 1.3% lower.
Energy stocks also declined as markets tracked ongoing diplomatic developments between the United States and Iran.
Woodside Energy fell 1.1%, Santos dipped 1%, while Viva Energy entered a trading halt following a fire at its Geelong refinery.
The Materials sector underperformed, with heavyweight miners BHP and Rio Tinto declining 0.3% and 0.7%, respectively, while Fortescue Metals Group gained 1%.
Gold stocks were among the weakest performers, as Northern Star Resources dipped 1.6%, Evolution Mining lost 4.2%, and Newmont Corporation shed 5.1%.
In contrast, the Information Technology sector surged 7.4%, with WiseTech Global up 12.4%, Xero adding 9%, TechnologyOne gaining 6.1% and NextDC recording gains of 3.8%.
Real estate investment trusts also advanced, with Goodman Group up 4%, Charter Hall Group adding 1.8%, Mirvac Group lifting 0.3%, and Stockland closing 1.4% higher.
Among individual movers, Ora Banda Mining jumped 10.3% after reporting record quarterly gold production of 38,766 ounces for the March quarter, up 21%.
AMP rose 3.6% after reporting strong platform inflows of $1.1 billion for the year to 31 March, representing a 45% increase.
Among economic data releases, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that employment rose by 18,000 in March, while unemployment fell by 4,000, leaving the jobless rate steady at 4.3%.
The result was slightly below Westpac analysts’ expectations for a 20,000 increase in employment, but remained strong enough to keep the possibility of a May interest rate hike in play.
According to the ASX's RBA Rate Tracker, futures pricing indicated a 67% expectation of an interest rate increase to 4.35% at the next RBA Board meeting.
On the bond markets, yields declined, with the 10-year government bond yield falling 0.2% to 4.961%, while the 2-year yield dropped 0.6% to 4.656%.
