Australia’s share market continues to grind lower, tracking with Wall Street as jitters around US tech valuations weigh on the growth outlook for equities.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 15.3 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 8,569.9 by midday on Thursday, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 20.1 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 8,855.7.
The move followed a drop on Wall Street, as concerns around a lack of artificial intelligence returns combined with a less dovish outlook on interest rate cuts, dragging on growth stocks.
“As the last full week of 2025 comes towards its end, the markets build towards a crescendo of central bank decisions,” Capital.com market analyst Kyle Rodda said.
“The trio of meetings between the Bank of England, European Central and Bank of Japan could be a microcosm for what’s to come next year: a divergence in global monetary policy settings.”
Eight of 11 local sectors traded lower by lunchtime, again led by weaker energy stocks, as oil prices lingered near April lows after the US government announced a blockade on oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela.
Also weighing on the segment was Woodside Energy, which slipped almost two per cent to $22.97 after announcing boss Meg O’Neill is leaving to take the top job at BP.
Executive vice president and chief operating officer of Australian operations Liz Westcott will step up as acting chief.
Elsewhere in the sector, Santos shares were up 1.5 per cent to $6.13 after it received more than $1 billion in settlement funds from its action against Fluor Australia over an infrastructure contract dispute.
Uranium producers sold off sharply, with Deep Yellow down nine per cent after withdrawing a feasibility study on its Honeymoon project, and Paladin dropping 5.7 per cent as it announced a debt restructure.
Materials stocks fell 0.3 per cent as iron ore giants BHP and Rio Tinto provided some support against weakness elsewhere, as iron ore futures crept higher.
Gold miners were broadly lower as the precious metal eased to $US4,330 ($A6,559) an ounce, while battery minerals and rare earths producers also sold off.
The heavyweight financials sector traded just below flat by midday, as CBA and ANZ eked minor gains, despite ANZ being hit with a second shareholder strike against its remuneration report, while NAB and Westpac edged lower.
IT stocks were under pressure, tracking with a weak overnight Nasdaq session, with California-headquartered Life360 slipping 1.8 per cent, while data centre play NextDC tumbled more than three per cent.
The Australian dollar was buying 66.03 US cents, down from 66.19 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm.
