At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 fell 22.66 points, or 0.32%, to 7,092.53. The broader All Ordinaries dropped 17.48 points, or 0.24%, to 7,331.58.
Total 6 of 11 S&P/ASX200 sectors ended lower, with the worst performing sector were materials (down 1.15%), healthcare (down 1%), realty (down 0.9%), and energy (down 0.6%), while the best performing sectors were information technology (up 1.1%), telecommunication services (up 0.76%), and utilites (up 0.52%).
The best performing stocks in the S&P/ASX200 were ALS (up 12.83%), Doman Holdings Australia (up 5.26%), Nextdc(up (5.17%), Regis Resources (up 3.92%), and Fletcher Building (up 3.86%), while the worst performing stocks were Kogan.com (down 5.73%), OZ Minerals (down 5.01%), Redbubble (down 4.91%), Eagers Automobile (down 3.76%), and Champion Iron (down 3.67%).
Mining heavyweights Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Fortescue Metals shed between 2.1% and 2.4% as the surge across commodity prices has eased amid China's warning against hoarding and speculation.
Energy stocks were lower, as oil prices slipped on worries that a possible return of Iranian supply could cause a glut. Woodside Petroleum and Santos lost around 1%. Beach Energy shed 1.6% and Worley gave up 1.8%.
On the upside, financials inched slightly higher with the 'Big Four' banks gaining between 0.6% and 0.1%.
Shares of gold miners surged as bullion prices scaled a more than four-month peak, helped by a weaker dollar and growing inflation concerns. Evolution Mining, Northern Star Resources and Regis Resources climbed 2-3%.
ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia Construction Work Improves 2.4% In Q1- Australia total construction work climbed a seasonally adjusted 2.4% on quarter in the first three months of 2021, coming in at A$51.975 billion, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday, following the upwardly revised 0.4% increase in the three months prior (originally -0.9%). Building construction was up 2.5% on quarter, while residential building gained 5.1%, non-residential building fell 1.6% and engineering rose 2.2%. On a yearly basis, the value of total construction work fell 1.1%. Building construction was down 1.8% on year, while residential building gained 4.2%, non-residential building fell 10.4% and engineering eased 0.3%.
CURRENCY NEWS: The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 89.751 weaker as compared to levels above 89.7 seen recently. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7777, stronger than levels below $0.772 seen earlier in the week.
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