ASX Today Live News & Analysis

Australia's share market has trimmed its early losses but ultimately ended the session lower, with a mining sector rebound unable to overcome resurgent fears as the US and Iran trade strikes.

The S&P/ASX200 fell 20.1 points on Thursday, down 0.23 per cent, to 8,633.2, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 20.3 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 8,836.7.

Energy stocks and defensive sectors outperformed the broader market following a re-escalation of fighting between the US and Iran, while an afternoon rebound in mining stocks helped the bourse balance its losses elsewhere.

"The ASX 200 had a volatile session, falling more than one per cent in early trade before recovering most of its losses by the afternoon, suggesting risk appetite is wavering but not collapsing," Vantage senior market analyst Hebe Chen told AAP.

"The broader macro backdrop has pushed investors into a more defensive and selective stance, but money is still finding its way into blue-chip and resilient names, helping BHP and CSL provide key support for the market."

BHP shares rose one per cent to $60.80, while competitor Fortescue slipped 0.3 per cent into the red, indicating investor selectivity rather than broad sector buying.

Gold miners mostly fell, as the precious metal dropped to $US4,087 ($A5,833) an ounce and the commodity sub-index lost 0.8 per cent.

Energy stocks gained 1.5 per cent with strong leads from Woodside, Santos and coal miners, while uranium stocks continued to sell off.

Oil prices actually cooled from their overnight spike, with West Texas crude trading at $US91.50 a barrel shortly before 5pm AEST.

Financials were a major drag on the index, tumbling 1.5 per cent, as all big four banks and Macquarie slumped.

Westpac dived 2.6 per cent after telling investors its investor home lending had fallen 20 per cent since the federal budget, while total mortgages dropped by one tenth.

The traditionally defensive consumer staples and health care segments each gained more than one per cent, while consumer cyclicals improved 0.8 per cent as Wesfarmers rallied for a second session following its investor day.

Australia's exchange traded fund industry hit a record $364 billion in funds under management in May, after a third consecutive month of net inflows above $5 billion, according to Betashares.

In company news, Lendlease shares jumped more than four per cent after maintaining its earnings-per-share guidance and appointing AustralianSuper head of retail assets Nick O'Neil as managing director and CEO, to take over from Tony Lombardo.

Southern Cross Media swung a similar amount in the other direction after its leadership flagged hundreds of jobs cuts and trimmed forward guidance.

Vinyl Group pared its early losses to end the session down 1.6 per cent, after a webinar talking up its recent Time Out and Pedestrian acquisition helped ease investor jitters around the media group's latest purchases.

The Australian dollar is buying 70.02 US cents, down from 70.17 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm AEST.

ON THE ASX:

The S&P/ASX200 fell 20.1 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 8,633.2??

The broader All Ordinaries dropped by 20.3 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 8,836.7

The NZX 50 added 163.92 points (1.24%) to 13,202.16 while the Nikkei gained 192.67 points (0.30%) at the time of writing, to be closed at 64,217.27

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

Champion Iron Limited