By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 declined 41.8 points or 0.6% to 7,209.5 during the first90 minutes of Thursday's trade, as market participants tracked a lower close on Wall Street overnight after the Federal Reserve's closely watched interest decision.
ASX 200 Futures were pointing 0.3% higher.
Among stocks, materials led declines, falling 1.1% as major miners Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) added 0.2% and BHP Group Ltd (ASX:BHP) fell 0.2%, while rare earth miners tumbled. Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) lost 4.5%, Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX:LTR) dipped 6% and Core Lithium Ltd (ASX:CXO) lost 4.9%.
Consumer discretionary was down 0.9% collectively, with JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX:JBH) down 3.5%, Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX:WES) falling 1.2% and Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX:ALL) down 0.6%.
Ahead in the session, traders will be looking toward local employment change data as well as Chinese industrial production and retail sales.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year yields were at 3.411% while United States 10-Year rates were at 3.501%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 was flat at 11,583.4.