Australia's share market has fallen for a second session, as a handful of soft earnings results and a sell-down in Commonwealth Bank and mining stocks dragged on the exchange.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 20.9 points on Thursday, down 0.23 per cent, to 9,188.5, as the broader All Ordinaries eased by 23.3 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 9,381.4.
The leading index fell almost 70 points in early trade, but buyers fought back in the afternoon, narrowing the loss and revealing appetite for further upside after last week's 9,278 record high close.
"We're not too far away from all-time highs, we're seeing a buy-the-dip mentality from the early stages of the day - It's a pretty bullish market," Pepperstone head of research Chris Weston told AAP.
"Tech has done alright, along with utilities and staples, so it's a very defensive market position on the day, but people have come out and put new money to work, so that's that's a positive."
Commonwealth Bank fell for a second straight session, dropping more than two per cent despite beating profit forecasts on Wednesday, while miners broadly fell as commodity prices eased.
Rio Tinto was particularly heavy, falling 3.6 per cent after going ex-dividend, despite the NSW and federal governments committing $2.5 billion over 10 years to keep its Tomago smelter online.
Gold stocks were broadly lower, as a nearly 10 per cent rally in the spot price took a breather, the precious metal easing to $US4,376 ($A6,209) an ounce.
The heavyweight financials sector turned an early loss into a meagre gain by the close, after Westpac and NAB followed ANZ higher as it surged 4.5 per cent on a third-quarter update that highlighted cost discipline and resilient balance sheet growth.
Reporting season was increasingly becoming a high jump competition, Global X senior investment strategist Marc Jocum said.
"Investors aren't judging companies on how high they jump, but whether they can clear the bar that expectations have set," he said.
Penfolds owner Treasury Wine Estates was a key example, rallying almost five per cent despite posting a more than $1 billion full-year statutory loss.
"Much of the bad news had already been priced in, leaving investors relieved that underlying earnings exceeded guidance and that management provided confidence earnings would at least be maintained in FY27," Mr Jocum said.
Telstra and IAG weren't so lucky, down more than three and five per cent respectively after delivering their results, while Origin's and ASX Ltd's impressed investors.
In other company news, Cleanaway shares charged more than 16 per cent higher after the waste management group received a $9.4 billion takeover offer from Swedish private equity firm EQT infrastructure.
The Australian dollar is buying 70.49 US cents, down from 70.61 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm AEST.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 lost 20.9 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 9,188.5
* The broader All Ordinaries fell 23.3 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 9,381.4
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 70.49 US cents, from 70.61 US cents at 5pm AEST on Wednesday
* 112.35 Japanese yen, from 112.52 Japanese yen
* 61.20 euro cents, from 61.20 euro cents
* 52.28 British pence, from 52.26 pence
* 120.88 NZ cents, from 120.35 NZ cents
