The local sharemarket ended another big day of reporting season in the red, as a slide in miners led by Rio Tinto offset a number of positive earnings surprises.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index fell 0.4 per cent to 5784.7 points on Thursday, while the broader All Ordinaries Index was 0.3 per cent lower.
A number of major stocks, including Rio Tinto, AGL Energy and JB Hi-Fi, went ex-dividend, providing downward momentum to the market.
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Overnight the Dow Jones industrial average rose about 55 points after hitting a new record high, with Johnson & Johnson contributing the most gains.
The S&P 500 traded 0.1 after reaching a new all-time high, with industrials dropping around 0.8 percent.
The Nasdaq composite underperformed, sliding 0.4 percent as the tech sector was on track to snap a 15-day winning streak.
Industrials lagged on the back of remarks made by newly minted Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.
Mnuchin said he wants to see "very significant" tax reform passed before Congress' August recess.
"We want to get this done by the August recess. We've been working closely with the leadership in the House and the Senate and we're looking at a combined plan," he said.
The prospect of tax reform has been one of the key catalysts in the U.S. stock market's postelection rally, along with deregulation and government spending.
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Oil price gains eased on Thursday after U.S. government data showed a seventh straight build in crude stocks, suggesting high inventories could undermine OPEC's move to cut output.
Benchmark Brent crude oil rose 71 cents a barrel, or 1.3 percent, to $56.55 by 2:34 p.m. EDT (1934 GMT) after touching a high of $57.26. U.S. light crude settled up 86 cents, or 1.6 percent, at $54.45 a barrel after touching $54.94 a barrel.
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Gold prices ended the U.S. day session with solid gains and notched a 3.5-mongh high Thursday. Silver prices also hit a 3.5-month high. Buy stops in both futures markets were triggered by today’s push in prices above the previous for-the-move highs. There continues to be a steady flow of safe-haven demand into gold from traders and investors worldwide. The U.S. dollar index was also weaker Thursday, following recent gains, and that was positive daily element working in favor of the precious metals market bulls. April Comex gold was last up $17.60 an ounce at $1,250.90. March Comex silver was last up $0.175 at $18.12 an ounce.
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