Australian shares have trimmed early gains to close flat after disappointing jobs data weighed on optimism driven by strong energy results.
At the close on Thursday, Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 3.1 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 4,214.8 while the broader All Ordinaries index was two points, or 0.05 per cent, weaker at 4,278.6.
On the ASX 24, the March share price index futures contract was off four points at 4,188 with 26,166 contracts traded.
The market was weighed down by the prospects of a slower economy following a worse-than-expected decline in employment. Total employment fell 29,300 to 11,421,300 in December, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The forecast was for total employment to have risen by 5,000 in December with the unemployment rate at 5.3 per cent, according to the median of 13 economists surveyed by AAP.