By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 finished flat for the second consecutive session on Thursday, easing from early gains as Materials and Energy companies dragged on sentiment.
Among stocks, Information Technology was the best performer, up 1.9% as Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) popped 8.9%, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) gained 6.3%, Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) lifted 4.9% and Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX:LNK) gained 1.4%.
Telecommunication Services lifted 1.8% overall, with Rea Group Ltd (ASX:REA) adding 3.13%, Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX:DHG) lifting 4.2%, Seek Ltd (ASX:SEK) up 3.8% and Telstra Corporation Ltd. (ASX:TLS) adding 1.3%.
Losses were led among the Energy sector, which fell 2.2% amid lower crude oil prices. Woodside Energy Ltd (ASX:WDS) dipped 3.1%, Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) lost 1.3%, Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) fell 1.1% and Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX:VEA) dipped 0.4%.
Consumer Staples lost 0.7% as Woolworths Ltd (ASX:WOW) lost 1.1%, Graincorp Ltd (ASX:GNC) fell 6.7%, Coles Group Ltd (ASX:COL) lost 0.6% and Endeavour Group Ltd (ASX:EDV) fell 2.5%.
Materials dipped 1.1% with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) down 1.6%, BHP Group Ltd (ASX:BHP) falling 1.1%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) down 2% and Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) falling 0.2%.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates were at 3.171% while United States 10-Year yields were at 2.732%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 0.3% to 11,735.5.