At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was down 47.45 points, or 0.65%, to 7,265.57. The broader All Ordinaries decreased 43.42 points, or 0.57%, to 7,541.54.
The market sentiment dampened due to the new coronavirus cases. In the past few days, major cities, including Sydney, Perth and Brisbane, have gone into a lockdown. Around one-in-two Australians are now under stay-at-home orders and millions of others subjected to movement curbs and mandatory mask-wearing. New South Wales on Thursday reported 24 locally acquired COVID-19 cases as the state capital Sydney nears a week of a hard lockdown put in place to contain an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant.
Shares of banks and financials declined the most on the bourse, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia sinking 1.3%. Westpac, National Australia Bank as well as Australia and New Zealand Banking Group fell less than 1%.
Energy stocks closed lower, with Santos, Origin Energy, and Woodside Petroleum fell about 1% each.
CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7488, having slipped from above $0.756 earlier in the week.
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