Australian shares fell 110 points, or 1.3%, to 8,675 in Thursday’s morning session, erasing the previous day’s gains after Wall Street weakened overnight amid renewed tensions in the Middle East. Iran reportedly launched a drone attack on Kuwait Airport following a skirmish with the U.S.
The local market pulled back from a one-month high as traders waited cautiously for April trade figures due later in the day. In March, Australia recorded its first trade deficit since December 2017, with exports declining while imports surged to a record high.
Losses were broad-based, led by commercial services, non-energy minerals, and producer manufacturing. However, relative resilience in consumer non-durables and energy minerals helped cap the overall decline. The four major banks slipped between 1.2% and 1.5%.
Among the notable laggards were mining heavyweight BHP Group (-3.3%), Northern Star Resources (-5.6%), Lynas Rare Earths (-5.4%), and Evolution Mining (-3.9%).
