Australian shares inch lower as tech, real estate stocks drag

Australian equities slipped marginally on Friday, according to Business Recorder, as technology and property shares weighed on the market while energy names cushioned the decline. The S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.2% to 9.067 by 0001 GMT, following a 0.3% advance on Thursday. Tech names were the heaviest drag, with the sub-index dropping as much as 1.5% in step with softness on Wall Street.

Thursday's jobs figures for July came in weaker than expected, with unemployment reaching its highest level since late 2021 and reducing the case for another rate increase. Even so, the softer labour data did little to lift retail spending or home-loan applications, which matter greatly to banks. Property stocks fell as much as 2.1% to their lowest point since mid-April, while discretionary consumer shares lost up to 1.2%.

Banks nearly erased their early losses, with the Big Four gaining between 0.05% and 0.9%. Energy shares rose as much as 1.8% to their highest since mid-April, marking a fifth straight day of gains on higher oil prices. Weaker iron ore and copper prices pushed miners down by up to 0.6%, with BHP and Fortescue falling by up to 1% and 0.3%, while Rio Tinto gained up to 1.3%. Guzman Y Gomez shares jumped as much as 12.6%, near a one-year peak, after the chain posted a 29.7% rise in annual profit.