The Australian stock market is trading lower on Thursday with investors pressing sales, tracking cues from Wall Street where stocks ended weak overnight after the Federal Reserve Chairman refrained from discussing further quantitative easing.
Mining, energy and healthcare stocks are mostly trading weak, while consumer staples and telecommunications are finding good support. Financial, industrial and information technology stocks are trading mixed.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which tumbled to 4,248 in early trades, is currently down 25.5 points or 0.6 percent at 4,273. The broader All Ordinaries index is down 27.7 points or 0.6 percent at 4,360.4, well off an early low of 4,337.6.
Among top miners, BHP Billiton is down 0.6 percent, Rio Tinto is trading lower by 1.6 percent, Fortescue Metals is down with a loss of 1.1 percent and Newcrest Mining is trading 2.2 percent down.
In the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum, Santos, Origin Energy and Oil Search are down 1 to 2 percent, while Caltex Australia is trading lower by over 2.5 percent.
Perseus Mining, Alumina, Sonic Healthcare, Insurance Australia, Lynas Corporation, Fairfax Media and Paladin Energy are down 3 to 4.2 percent.
Orica is down nearly 3 percent. AGL Energy, Campbell Brothers, Boral, Bluescope Steel and Cochlear are also trading notably lower.
However, David Jones, QBE Insurance Group and Aquarius Platinume are bucking the trend and trading stronger by 2 to 3 percent.
On the economic front, Australian residential building approvals rose 0.9 percent to 11,729 units in January, compared to an upwardly revised 11,621 units in December, seasonally adjusted, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. In the year to January, building approvals were down 14.6 percent, the data revealed.
Meanwhile, Australian manufacturing activity in February expanded for a third consecutive month, according to a private survey. The Australian Industry Group/PriceWaterhouseCoopers Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index was 51.3, only 0.3 index points down on the January reading.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened lower and was quoting at US$1.0763 in early trades, down nearly 0.4 percent from Wednesday's close of US$1.0804.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore are trading notably higher, while New Zealand is up marginally. Markets across the region ended mostly higher on Wednesday.
On Wall Street, stocks drifted lower during the fag end of the day after showing a lack of direction for much of the trading session on Wednesday. A negative reaction to remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke contributed to the lower close.
The major averages all ended the day in negative territory, with the Dow pulling back below the 13,000 level. The Dow ended down by about 53 points or 0.4 percent at 12,952.1, the Nasdaq slid 19.9 points or 0.7 percent to 2,966.9 and the S&P 500 dropped 6.5 points or 0.5 percent to 1,365.7.
Major European markets turned lower over the course of the trading session on Wednesday. While the French CAC 40 index edged down by less than a tenth of a percent, the German DAX index lost 0.5 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index tumbled by 1 percent.
U.S. crude oil futures rallied to close higher on Wednesday, notwithstanding an EIA report indicating a higher-than-expected increase in U.S. oil stockpile and a stronger dollar. Light sweet crude for April delivery gained $0.52 or 0.5 percent to close at $106.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.