The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was little changed after shedding just eight points, or 0.09 per cent, on Wednesday to close at 8727.7, as the broader All Ordinaries edged down 0.1 per cent, or 8.9 points, to 8894.6.
The day got off to a slightly positive start after Wall Street locked in fresh record highs for the US market's key S&P500 and Nasdaq indices on the back of a technology sector rally.
But the momentum faded, as the domestic bourse wasn't up to matching the US tech lead, given a lack of similar listed companies in Australia.
"But there's also a dearth of news and data right now," Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda told AAP, noting that China is on holiday for the annual Gold Week celebrations marking the founding of its republic.
"Ultimately, we're a market in need of a catalyst.
"It'll probably have to come from geopolitical developments in the Middle East or perhaps the US earnings season when it kicks off next week."
Across the market, falls in the heavyweight financial and materials or mining sectors outweighed a scattering of gains in the remaining nine segments, including energy and health care.
Amongst the banks, Westpac gave up 1.21 per cent to $34.24, as Commonwealth Bank dipped 1.32 per cent to $150.37, National Australia Bank offloaded 0.78 per cent to $38.40, although ANZ edged up by a tiny 0.24 per cent to $37.95.
BHP lost just under one per cent to $62.45, followed by Rio Tinto, which fell by about the same to $166.74 and Fortescue, which shed almost 2.5 per cent to $16.01.
Local gold producers did a little better, with the country's biggest miner Northern Star gaining about two per cent to $24.37, as the precious metal firmed slightly in Asia region trading to $US4158 ($A5954) an ounce.
Northern Star is still at the centre of a takeover speculation, despite recently rejecting a bid from a South Africa-based rival, Gold Fields.
Of the rising stocks, uranium miner Deep Yellow led the way with a 4.6 per cent gain to $1.14 while Telix Pharmaceuticals made good headway with a three per cent rise to $15.87 after telling the market its first US patients had been dosed with its Pixclara brain cancer imaging drug.
But real estate sector darling Arena was a highlight after surging around 13 per cent to $2.35, after the trust revealed one of its under-pressure tenants will transfer 31 of its childcare facilities to Goodstart Early Learning.
Elsewhere, consumer staples Woolworths and Coles were both little changed, with the former closing at $38.22 and the latter at $22.88.
The Australian dollar was buying 69.70 US cents, up from 69.69 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 fell eight points, or 0.09 per cent, to 8727.7
* The broader All Ordinaries fell 8.9 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 8894.6.
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 69.70 US cents, from 69.69 US cents at 5pm AEST on Tuesday
* 110.38 Japanese yen, from 1110.17 Japanese yen
* 62.07 euro cents, from 62.16 euro cents
* 52.61 British pence, from 52.74 pence
* 124.37 NZ cents, from 124.52 NZ cents
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