Australian shares closed lower on Thursday, as investors reacted to fresh escalations in the conflict in the Middle East as well as the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.78%, or by 70.90 points, to close at 8,967.70 after setting a new 100-day high.
Brent crude oil futures fell to trade around $91 per barrel even as the US conducted fresh strikes against targets in Iran.
The US Federal Reserve, under new Chair Kevin Warsh, kept monetary policy unchanged. Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq Composite, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.5%, 1.7%, and 2.2%, respectively.
On the domestic front, Australia's export prices rose 1.1% in the June quarter following a 0.5% increase in the March quarter, while growth in import prices accelerated to 5.7% from 0.1%, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.
The number of total dwellings approved in Australia in seasonally adjusted terms recorded an increase of 7.2% month on month to 18,328 in June and 8.9% year on year, according to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
In company news, Ampol (ASX:ALD) said its first-half unaudited group replacement cost operating profit (RCOP) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) clocked in around AU$1.6 billion, jumping from the AU$649 million reported in the prior-year period. It added that the Lytton refinery in Queensland will undergo major maintenance starting in August. Ampol's shares earlier hit an all-time high.
Domino's Pizza Enterprises (ASX:DMP) reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 underlying profit after tax guidance of AU$118 million to AU$122 million despite expecting a statutory loss after booking around AU$300 million in mostly non-cash balance sheet write-downs.
Lastly, National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) said the business lending balances of its business and private banking (B&PB) division jumped 10% year over year to AU$180 billion in the June quarter from AU$165 billion.