Australian shares fell 39 points, or 0.4%, to 8,773 in Thursday’s morning session, reversing a modest gain in the previous trading day. The pullback tracked continued weakness on Wall Street, where the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped overnight following a sharp sell-off in tech stocks earlier in the week.
Sentiment was also dampened by caution ahead of May labour market data, after April’s unemployment rate climbed to 4.5%—its highest level since late 2021—accompanied by an unexpected drop in employment.
At the same time, Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser reiterated that inflation remains uncomfortably high and signalled that further policy action is likely needed to bring it back within the 2–3% target band. Data released on Wednesday showed headline inflation easing to 4.0% in May from 4.2% in April, but core inflation accelerated to 3.6%.
Selling pressure was concentrated in non-energy minerals, energy minerals, and industrial services. Notable laggards included BHP Group (-0.7%), Worley (-9.0%), Predictive Discovery (-7.2%), and Capricorn Metals (-4.0%). The big four banks also retreated, shedding between 0.8% and 2.9%.