By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 lost 22.7 points or 0.3% to 6,677.5 after the first hour of Thursday’s trade, extending losses of 0.9% in the previous session as investors remained cautious following a mixed lead from U.S. equities overnight.
ASX 200 Futures were pointing 0.2% lower.
Among stocks, losses were led by the Energy sector amid weaker crude oil prices. Woodside Energy Ltd (ASX:WDS) dipped 2.1%, Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) lost 0.4%, Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) fell 2.9% and Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX:VEA) lost 1.4%.
Utilities were down 0.2% with Mercury NZ Ltd (ASX:MCY) down 1.7%, Origin Energy Ltd (ASX:ORG) was down 1%, APA Group (ASX:APA) fell 0.5% and Genesis Energy Ltd (ASX:GNE) lost 2.4%.
Financials fell 0.9% collectively, with Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) down 0.9%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) falling 0.8%, Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) dropping 0.9%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) falling 0.8%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) dipping 0.8%.
Materials moved 0.8% lower, with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) down 1%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) falling 1.5%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) down 1.5% and Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) down 1.6%.
real estate companies bucked the trend, adding 0.8% overall as Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) lifted 1.8%, Charter Hall Group (ASX:CHC) lost 0.7%, Mirvac Group (ASX:MGR) gained 0.5% and Scentre Group Ltd (ASX:SCG) fell 1.1%.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year yields were at 3.621% United States 10-Year yields fell to 3.083%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 remained little changed at 10,960.4.