By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 fell 46.5 points or 0.6% to 7,204.8 during Thursday’s trade, with risk appetites fading and government bond yields moving higher following hawkish rhetoric from U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers overnight.
Among stocks, Materials led declines as lithium prices sold off. Avz Minerals Ltd (ASX:AVZ) shed 7.1%, Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:LYC) lost 1.2%, Piedmont Lithium Ltd (ASX:PLL) dipped 3.6% and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) shed 11.4%.
Consumer Discretionary also declined 1.3%. JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX:JBH) dropped 2.8%, Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX:DMP) lost 0.7%, all fell 1.6% and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX:WES) lost 1.1%.
On the data front, Australia added 64K jobs during November, smashing expectations of 19K added.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year yields were at 3.462% while United States 10-Year rates were at 3.497%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 finished 0.2% higher at 11,602.