Australia shares end lower after tech rout; Westpac outperforms

Australian shares ended lower on Thursday, dragged down by technology stocks that suffered their worst session in nearly a month, while Westpac rose after the country's fourth-largest lender topped its quarterly profit estimates.

The S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.1% lower at 7,078 after a two-day winning streak lost steam in thin trade.

Technology stocks plunged 5.9%, extending losses from the previous session, weighed down by a 9.8% and 5% slump in Block and Xero, respectively.


Wall Street sentiment turned sour in post-market trade overnight as Meta Platforms Inc plunged more than 20% after the Facebook owner missed its earnings estimate.

Steven Daghlian, a market analyst at CommSec, also attributed weakness in tech stocks to inflationary risks and the prospect of rising interest rates across economies.

"We're going through a period where it's quite normal to see increased volatility just because markets are still somewhat unpredictable and uncertain about what's ahead," he said.

Financials dipped 0.1%, though Westpac jumped 2.3% to its highest level since Jan. 19 after the lender's first-quarter numbers reflected a headway in its cost-cutting measures.

Early signs of reduced costs should provide investors some comfort that incurring costs will likely decline through FY22 as guided, brokerage Citi said in a note.

Gaming company Aristocrat Leisure fell as much as 3.1% after shareholders of UK gambling software company Playtech rejected its $2.84 billion takeover offer.

Bucking the trend, mining stocks closed 1.6% higher, benefiting from strong copper and gold prices, with heavyweights Rio Tinto and BHP firming 2.4% and 3.1%, respectively.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 ended 0.4% higher at 12,335.3.

Flag carrier Air New Zealand climbed 3.3% after the country floated plans on phased reopening of its borders.