The Australian sharemarket closed lower on Thursday as declines in energy and mining stocks outweighed gains across most sectors, as investors responded to falling commodity prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 59.7 points, or 0.7%, to 8,748.7, despite seven of the index's 11 sectors finishing in positive territory.
Energy stocks led the market lower as oil prices extended their decline to pre-conflict levels amid easing supply concerns and growing optimism surrounding progress in peace negotiations between the United States and Iran.
The Energy sector recorded the largest losses, with Santos down 2.8%, Woodside Energy and Beach Energy falling 2.9% apiece, and Ampol closing 0.3% lower.
The Materials sector also weighed heavily on the benchmark index. Major miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue lost 1.7%, 2.3%, and 1.6%, respectively.
Gold miners came under additional pressure after spot gold prices fell below US$4,000 per ounce, trading at November 2025 lows.
Northern Star Resources fell 3.3%, Evolution Mining lost 3.8%, and Newmont Corporation ended 3.1% lower.
The Financial sector also finished in the red, with Commonwealth Bank down 1.3%, National Australia Bank falling 3.4%, Westpac down 2% and ANZ declining 2.2%.
Among individual companies, Judo Capital was the market's biggest laggard, plunging 40.4% in its worst trading session on record.
The lender cut its FY26 profit guidance after reporting a deterioration in asset quality, which significantly increased provisioning charges and raised concerns about future earnings growth.
Engineering services company Worley shed 9.7% after the company warned of a negative impact of up to $60 million on FY26 underlying EBITDA.
The revised estimate represents a substantial increase from the $30 million to $40 million impact forecast only two months ago.
The a2 Milk Company gained 3.7% after announcing a special dividend worth NZ$300 million (A$245.4 million) following the receipt of a key Chinese regulatory approval linked to its Pokeno infant formula manufacturing facility.
Shareholders are set to receive a special dividend of 41.36 cents per share.
Tourism Holdings gained 7.7% after revealing it had received a new takeover proposal from an undisclosed bidder valuing the company at between NZ$3.30 and NZ$3.40 per share. Existing bidder BGH consortium remains involved in the process.
Healthcare technology company EchoIQ surged 30.2% after securing an agreement with Pro Medicus involving a strategic investment of up to A$20 million and a commercial partnership focused on the United States market.
Shares in Pro Medicus rose 3.6%.
Investors also assessed the latest Australian labour market figures, which showed continued resilience in employment conditions.
Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed the unemployment rate fell to 4.4% in May, while the economy added 40,300 jobs, comfortably exceeding market expectations for an increase of 30,000 positions.
On the bond markets, the yield on the Australian 10-year government bond rose 0.3% to 4.731%, while the two-year yield slipped 0.4% to 4.43%.
