Australian shares declined on Thursday after investors reacted to a continued fall in oil prices as supply concerns eased.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.68%, or 59.70 points, to close at 8,748.70.
Oil prices are reaching pre-war levels as tankers transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude oil futures fell to around $72 per barrel. Meanwhile, gold fell below $4,000 for the first time since November 2025.
On the domestic front, Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.4% in May from 4.5% in April, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed.
Australia's total household wealth rose 1.2% to AU$19.212 trillion in the March quarter due to growth in land and dwelling values, according to figures released by ABS.
Australian total household spending in May was AU$80.64 billion on a current price, seasonally adjusted basis, rising 5.5% year-over-year and 1.3% month-on-month, according to data from the ABS.
Seasonally adjusted job vacancies in Australia fell 2.1% to 329,500 in the three months to May, ABS said.
In company news, Judo Capital Holdings (ASX:JDO) said it now expects a fiscal 2026 profit before tax of AU$163 million to AU$169 million. The cut comes as Judo now expects its fiscal year cost of risk to be in the range of AU$116 million to AU$122 million, reflecting an increase in certain provisions driven mainly by three exposures across different sectors that recently emerged due to "customer-specific developments." Its shares dropped nearly 38% on close, earlier reaching their lowest point in over two years.
Worley (ASX:WOR) increased its expected fiscal 2026 underlying earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization (EBITA) impact to up to AU$60 million, up from a prior estimate of AU$30 million to AU$40 million, due to ongoing Middle East project delays.
Lastly, Pro Medicus (ASX:PME) will provide an investment of up to AU$20 million to Echo IQ (ASX:EIQ) and become a reseller of the EchoSolv product suite across the US under a proposed commercial partnership.