The Australian sharemarket fell on Thursday, dragged lower by materials stocks after iron ore shipments from Guinea's Simandou mine soared, while renewed US-Iran clashes weighed on sentiment and threatened a fragile ceasefire.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 73.8 points, or 0.8 per cent, to 8711.9 at 10.10am AEST , with six of the 11 sectors trading lower.
Markets were already on edge after several days of escalating tensions in the Middle East, including Israeli operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which have raised concerns about the durability of US-Iran diplomatic talks.
Oil prices eased 0.7 per cent in early Asian trade, paring earlier gains after reports that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a ceasefire, easing some near-term supply risk concerns.
Materials were the biggest laggards as eports from Guinea's Simandou iron ore project surged to 2.2 million tonnes in May, six months after the first shipment to China.
Fortescue dived 3.6 per cent, Rio Tinto by 3.3 per cent and BHP lost 2.7 per cent. It came as gold miners tumbled against geopolitical clouds with Northern Star down 4.7 per cent.
Banks slid as Commonwealth Bank eased 0.6 per cent, ANZ 0.7 per cent, National Australia Bank 0.8 per cent and Westpac 0.9 per cent.
Energy headlined gains with Woodside Energy up 1.3 per cent and Santos 1 per cent.
Stocks in focus
IperionX dived 6.1 per cent as investor reacted to its definitive feasibility study into the Titan Critical Minerals Project in Tennessee, which the company said it outlined an after-tax value of $US813 million ($1.14 billion).
Pro Medicus added 1.8 per cent as it secured a five-year $16 million renewal with Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, extending its long-running relationship and expanding usage across additional product modules.
Treasury Wine Estates rallied 10.1 per cent as it held its investor day. Citi analyst Sam Teeger said it was positive with no downgrades and slightly improved longer-term margin targets.
Sharemarket operator ASX Ltd eased 0.9 per cent as it reported the average daily trades in May rose 37 per cent, reflecting higher volatility in the market.
Endeavour Group rose 5.2 per cent after Citi upgraded the stock to "buy", saying the stock offers scope for market share gains despite near-term earnings uncertainty.
Orica edged down 0.3 per cent. It appointed SGH Limited director Mark Johnson as an independent non-executive director, effective July 1.

Sumber : AFR