Australian shares were subdued on Thursday, as technology giants partially offset gains in financials and energy stocks, while investors awaited local jobs data for more clues on the central bank’s interest rate trajectory.
The S&P/ASX 200 index held its ground at 8057.1, and was hovering near a record high of 8,057.90 points seen in the previous session.
The benchmark ended 0.7% higher on Wednesday. Investors will closely monitor June’s employment data due later in the day, as it is likely to provide clues on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate path.
Australian employment had outpaced expectations in May as firms took on more full-time workers, while the jobless rate dipped.
Rate-sensitive financials led the benchmark index higher by gaining 0.2%, with shares of National Australia Bank and ANZ Group rising more than 0.3%.
Australian gold stocks were up 0.3% after bullion prices recorded an all-time high on Wednesday. Shares of Evolution Mining climbed 3.3% on posting strong June-quarterly gold production results.
Domestic energy stocks tracked oil prices higher with a 0.2% climb.
Shares of Woodside Energy were up 0.5%.
Australian shares hit record high; RBA cautious on inflation
Santos, Australia’s no. 2 independent gas producer, advanced nearly 1% after stating that its flagship A$4.3 billion ($2.89 billion) gas project was 77% complete despite a dip in quarterly sales revenue.
Domino’s Pizza slumped as much as 9.4% after it forecast post market hours on Wednesday that its store growth was likely to be flat-to-slightly-positive in its current fiscal year, and decided to close up to 80 low-volume stores in Japan and 10-20 stores in France.
Information technology firms tracked their overseas peers lower to lose nearly 2%.
Shares of tech firm Wisetech Global lost 2%. Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index shed 0.2% to 12,272.04 points.
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