S&P/ASX 200 Falls 0.42% to 8,793.80 as Miners, Energy Stocks Drag Australian Market Lower

The Australian market held early losses in mid-market trading on Thursday, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index down 37.50 points, or 0.42%, at 8,793.80 after touching a low of 8,764.00. The broader All Ordinaries Index fell 35.80 points, or 0.40%, to 8,920.80, reversing modest gains from Wednesday despite positive cues from Wall Street overnight. Mining and energy stocks led the decline. BHP Group fell more than 1%, while Fortescue, Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto each dropped almost 2%. Woodside Energy slid almost 4%, Beach Energy lost more than 3% and Santos fell more than 1%. Among banks, ANZ Banking edged up 0.5%, while Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank slipped 0.1% to 0.3%. Nick Scali shares plunged more than 17% after the retailer warned of a sharp profit fall for the December half. NextDC surged almost 9%, recovering from a more than 40% drop on Wednesday after cutting guidance. The Aussie dollar traded at $0.702.