The Australian sharemarket ended lower on Thursday, snapping a two-day winning streak as renewed volatility in commodity markets weighed on the materials sector and offset broader gains across most industries.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 38.6 points, or 0.4%, to 8,889.2, despite eight of the 11 sectors finishing in positive territory.
The Materials sector was the weakest performer. Major diversified miners finished in the red, with BHP down 3.9%, Rio Tinto falling 1.4%, and Fortescue closing 0.7% lower.
Gold producers also retreated amid lower gold prices, with Northern Star Resources shedding 4.6%, Evolution Mining down 3.2% and Newmont declining 5.3%.
The energy sector also closed weaker, with oil prices down about 2% during the session.
Santos lost 0.7% and Woodside Energy added 0.2%. Beach Energy fell 4.4% amid disappointment over the company’s 1 cent interim dividend, which missed expectations by 50%, adding to concerns about earnings quality after an 8% drop in profit.
Uranium miners were among the steepest decliners. Sentiment in the segment was hit after Advanced Micro Devices fell sharply on Wall Street overnight, with the chipmaker’s weaker guidance tempering optimism around artificial intelligence-driven data centre growth and associated power demand.
Paladin Energy dropped 9%, and Deep Yellow slid 6.4%.
In contrast, investors rotated into financial stocks ahead of the Australian reporting season. Commonwealth Bank of Australia and ANZ Group added 1.4% apiece, National Australia Bank gained 0.3% and Westpac ticked up 0.1%.
Amcor extended gains, jumping 6.7% after releasing quarterly results in the prior session. The packaging group reported an 89% increase in EBITDA and a 70% rise in net sales, and reaffirmed its full-year earnings per share growth guidance of 12% to 17%.
Elders fell 4.1% after appointing René Dedoncker as its next chief executive. However, the delayed start date in October, due to a six-month notice period at his current employer Fonterra, appeared to disappoint investors.
On the bond markets, Australian yields moved higher, with the 10-year yield up 0.3% at 4.852% and the two-year yield rising 0.4% to 4.287%.
