The Australian sharemarket snapped a seven-day, winning streak on Thursday, as losses posted by the technology and energy sectors offset a strong session by the local miners.P/ASX 200 fell 14.9 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 7499.6, but remains just 1.8 per cent below the all-time high of 7632.8 it reached in August. The broader All Ordinaries tumbled 0.1 per cent to 7789.6.
Oil prices retreated on news the US is considering the release of as many as 180 million barrels of oil in coming months from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as the Biden administration tries to lower high fuel costs. Harvey Norman declined 6.3 per cent to $5.35 as shares in the company traded ex-dividend with the respect to its 20¢ interim dividend scheduled to be paid on May 2.
Champion Iron climbed 6 per cent to $7.81, Fortescue rose 4.3 per cent to $20.66, Mineral Resources firmed 4.4 per cent to $52.71, BHP added 2.3 per cent to $51.75, and Rio Tinto advanced 1.9 per cent to $119.11.
Source: News Formal (newsformal.com)