The Australian sharemarket closed lower on Thursday as investors assessed renewed hostilities in the Middle East after United States President Donald Trump declared the Iran ceasefire was effectively "over", raising concerns the fragile truce could collapse and reignite global inflation pressures.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 22.6 points, or 0.3%, to 8,762.5, with three of the 11 sectors finishing lower.
Sentiment remained cautious as oil prices extended gains after the United States launched a second consecutive day of strikes on targets in Iran.
The Materials sector led the declines, with BHP falling 1.1%, Rio Tinto dropping 3.3% and Fortescue losing 1.6%.
Gold miners also weakened; Evolution Mining fell 1.7%, while Newmont declined 1.8%.
Northern Star Resources lost 0.9%, broadly tracking weakness across the mining sector, after appointing former Perseus Mining chief executive Jeff Quartermaine as an independent non-executive director.
Catalyst Metals dropped 5% after announcing forward gold contracts covering 30,000 ounces at a fixed price of A$6,075 per ounce, a move aimed at reducing earnings volatility while maintaining exposure to higher bullion prices.
Financial stocks finished marginally lower across the board. Commonwealth Bank eased 0.04%, National Australia Bank fell 0.8%, Westpac slipped 0.1%, and ANZ lost 0.3%.
The Energy sector outperformed as higher crude oil prices boosted producers. Santos gained 2.0%, Woodside Energy added 1.5% and Beach Energy rose 1.2%.
Among individual companies, Fletcher Building jumped 7.6% after lifting its FY26 earnings guidance by around 6.4% to a range of NZ$400 million to NZ$403 million, citing stronger-than-expected property sales and improved trading across its manufacturing and distribution businesses.
On the bond markets, Australian government yields moved lower, with the 10-year yield falling 1.1% to 4.878% and the two-year yield declining 1.7% to 4.494%.
