SYDNEY — The S&P/ASX 200 edged lower Thursday afternoon, giving back early gains as a slide in mining stocks offset strength in banking and communication services shares, even as Wall Street's overnight rally lifted sentiment across the region.

The benchmark index was down 13.0 points, or 0.15%, to 8,828.1 as of 3:02 p.m. AEST, pulling back from a positive open earlier in the session.

The pullback came despite a firmer start to the trading day. Australian shares had opened higher, tracking a solid overnight session on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite all advanced on easing inflation signals and a strong start to the U.S. second-quarter earnings season.

By late morning, the ASX 200 had climbed as much as 7.6 points, or 0.09%, to 8,848, with eight of the index's 11 sectors trading in positive territory. Communication services led the advance, rising roughly 1.3% on gains in REA Group, CAR Group, Seek and News Corp. Financial stocks also contributed to the early strength.

The gains proved short-lived. Mining stocks weighed heavily on the broader market through the session, dragging the materials sector into negative territory even after BHP Group reported record iron ore production for the 2026 financial year. BHP shares fell despite the milestone, part of a broader retreat among miners that accounted for the bulk of the index's worst-performing stocks. Mining names........

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