Australian shares end lower as investors weigh mixed earnings, await data

Australian shares ended lower on Thursday as investors assessed a slew of mixed corporate earnings and remained cautious ahead of key economic data.

The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.3% lower at 8,045.10 points. All sub-indexes, except for financial and technology, declined.

“It’s been a long month and the bad results are now coming through… resources (are) still out of favour whilst banks hold us up,” Henry Jennings, a senior market analyst at Marcustoday, said.

Investors were on the watch for local July retail sales data due on Friday. A Reuters poll suggests that retail sales are expected to rise by 0.3% from June.

Mineral Resources emerged as one of the top losers on the benchmark index, shedding 8.1% after reporting a slump in annual profit and suspending its dividend, hit by weaker lithium prices.

Australian shares rise as BHP Group, Woodside Energy shine on upbeat earnings

Miners fell 0.8% as prices of most base metals were under pressure due to lingering fears over demand from China.

Heavyweights BHP Group and Rio Tinto fell 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively.

Banking stocks closed the session 0.3% higher at a record high.

“I think they (financials) are going to be a favoured sector to move into while we’re still in a relatively high interest rate environment in Australia,” Nick Twidale, Chief Market Analyst at ATFX, said.

Wesfarmers ended 4.1% lower after sales momentum at its top earner and the country’s biggest home improvement chain, Bunnings, moderated in the current fiscal year.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index closed 0.9% lower at 12,353.61 points.

The country’s flagship carrier Air New Zealand closed 0.9% lower after it reported a drop in its annual profit.