The Australian sharemarket finished modestly lower on Thursday as weakness in technology and banking stocks outweighed gains in the energy sector, with investors remaining cautious amid renewed conflict in the Middle East and overnight losses on Wall Street.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index closed down 20.1 points, or 0.2%, at 8,633.2. Despite the decline, market breadth remained relatively positive, with seven of the index's 11 sectors finishing higher.
Investor sentiment was dampened by a risk-off tone that emerged after major U.S. equity benchmarks fell overnight.
Markets were also monitoring renewed military action in the Middle East after U.S. forces launched fresh strikes against Iran, reigniting a conflict that has unsettled global markets for more than three months.
The Information Technology sector led the market lower as investors continued to reduce exposure to growth-oriented stocks.
WiseTech Global fell 3.6%, Xero declined 2.8%, and TechnologyOne lost 1.6%.
Financial stocks also came under pressure, weighing heavily on the broader index. Commonwealth Bank dropped 2.4%, National Australia Bank fell 1.8%, Westpac Banking Corp lost 2.6% and ANZ Group declined 2.1%.
In contrast, energy stocks advanced as crude oil prices lifted amid concerns over supply disruptions linked to escalating tensions between the United States and Iran.
Santos rose 2.0%, Woodside Energy gained 1.6%, Beach Energy climbed 2.4% and Viva Energy added 0.9%.
Among individual stocks, Alcoa was one of the session's weakest performers, plunging 8.3% after chief financial officer Molly Beerman warned that the company's alumina operations were facing losses due to energy supply disruptions and the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Southern Cross Media fell 4.2% after announcing a corporate restructuring and lowering its full-year guidance. The company now expects revenue of between $1.86 billion and $1.87 billion, down from previous guidance of $1.91 billion to $1.92 billion.
Meanwhile, Super Retail Group rose 0.7% after outlining plans at its investor day to expand its store network from approximately 790 locations to more than 900 by 2031 as part of its new five-year growth strategy.
Bond markets were relatively steady, with yields edging lower. Australia's 10-year government bond yield slipped 0.2% to 4.897%, while the two-year yield fell 0.7% to 4.536%.
