By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The ASX 200 was little changed in early trade on Thursday, holding at 7500.2 following gains of 0.38% in the previous session, posting a fresh record closing high as investors remained cautious amid a subdued session on Wall Street, while easing crude oil prices hit energy stocks.
On the coronavirus front, Victoria reported 6 new cases today, with health authorities scrambling to trace 3 three unlinked community infections and forcing the closure of 4 schools, while Queensland reported 16 cases, all linked to the current Indooroopilly cluster. Meantime, New South Wales recorded 233 cases yesterday; with 90 infectious while in the community as the number of exposure sites continues to explode, sparking fears of a deepening contagion.
Among stocks, Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX:WHC) dipped 1.86%, Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) was down 1.65% and Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) had dipped 1.55%. Meantime, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) fell 0.63% and 0.6% respectively.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 moved 21.09 points or 0.16% lower to 12776.2.