ASX Today Live News & Analysis

Australia's share market has retreated after brushing up against record highs as heavyweight earnings results weighed against shocking misses for smaller companies.

The discrepancy was clear in the two leading indices on Thursday, with the S&P/ASX200 gaining 28.7 points, up 0.32 per cent, to 9,043.5, while the broader All Ordinaries finished flat at 9,281.8.

The top 200 came within roughly 10 points of resetting its intraday best of 9,115.2, but ultimately handed back most of its 88-point lead by the close.

"Earnings season often delivers a fair mix of beats and bombshells, but this is going to be memorable because the heavyweight stocks, particularly in the financials, are carrying the load," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore told AAP.

"They're delivering outsized gains that really outweigh the impact of disappointments in lower weighted stocks."

ANZ led the charge as its shares rocketed 8.5 per cent higher to a record $40.35, joining CBA in smashing its earnings forecast with a $1.9 billion December quarter cash profit.

The broader sector rose 2.6 per cent, despite a sea of red engulfing most companies outside of the big four banks.

It was a similar story in raw materials, the sector up 1.1 per cent as Rio Tinto and BHP jumped more than two per cent each, with mixed performances elsewhere.

Gold miner Northern Star surged four per cent to $29.39 after hitting a record during the session on the back of a 41 per cent jump in half-year profit to $714 million.

Other gold stocks were patchy, as the precious metal's spot price consolidated near $US5,074 ($A7,129) an ounce.

In critical minerals, PLS shares jumped 3.8 per cent, while Lynas Rare Earths carved out a 1.5 per cent boost.

Energy sector miners had a mixed performance as the segment faded 0.2 per cent, with Whitehaven Coal down almost three per cent as competitor Yancoal lifted 1.8 per cent.

It was a similar story with uranium stocks, as Paladin scraped a 0.7 per cent advance, but Deep Yellow lost two per cent.

Oil and gas producers Woodside and Santos were also split, with the former in the green and Santos slipping behind as crude prices grinded slowly upward, in what has been a relatively stable week for the commodity.

Utilities stocks outperformed the market, surging for a second day as Origin joined AGL in handing down impressive earnings, along with a guidance upgrade.

Some financial reports sparked brutal sell downs however, with wealth group AMP shedding more than a quarter of its value after its full-year bottom line profit tumbled 11 per cent to $133 million.

Temple & Webster shareholders also demanded their money back, the furniture e-retailer tanking by almost a third after reporting a 36 per cent first-half profit slump to $5.8 million.

Turning back to sector performances, IT stocks plummeted 6.2 per cent to two-year lows, with little confidence in the sector despite the discount and a benign lead from Wall Street overnight.

The health care segment plumbed depths not seen since April 2019, as blood plasma giant CSL sunk another 6.9 per cent after a major profit slump and the sudden exit of CEO Paul McKenzie earlier in the week.

Imaging software provider Pro Medicus was even worse off, cratering almost 24 per cent after its first-half revenue misses consensus estimates, and taking the top-200's wooden spoon for the day.

The Australian dollar is still trading near three-year highs, buying 71.24 US cents, up from 71.16 US cents on Thursday at 5pm, supported by US dollar weakness, strong commodity prices and a hawkish local interest rate outlook.

ON THE ASX:

The S&P/ASX200 gained 28.7 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 9,043.5

The broader All Ordinaries traded flat, closing at 9,281.8

The NZX 50 added 24.20 points (0.18%) to 13,531.48 while the Nikkei dropped -10.70 points (-0.02%) at the time of writing, to be closed at 57,639.84

Companies commencing Ex-Dividend Trading Today (ASX 300):

Scentre Group